Wildcat sighted in Eitorf Serval could be a pet on the loose
Eitorf · The origin of the big cat in Eitorf is still unknown. But there are first unconfirmed indications that it could be a pet on free range.
Is it a wild animal or a domestic animal, is it shy or tame, dangerous or harmless, has it escaped or simply gone out for a walk? The questions about the tabby big cat, which has been roaming around the Eitorfer municipal area since December, are still going on. The first reports about it were received by the municipal administration before Christmas, and on 28 December the police received the first tip-off about the animal, which is roaming in a legally undefined area.
"It may be an African wildcat originally, but it is actually a domestic cat and may not be hunted," Alexandra Wellner quoted the hunting authority of the Rhein-Sieg district. Also from view of the nature protection authority nothing can be undertaken, as long as one does not know, to whom the animal belongs, describes the press spokeswoman of the Rhine victory circle.
Serval in Eitorf is legally regarded as a „find animal"
The Eitorfer local government, which meanwhile firmly assumes that it is a serval, treats the animal legally like a runaway little dog or a domestic cat. "There are, even if as yet unconfirmed, indications that the animal was or is being acquired and kept by a private person in the municipal area south of the Sieg, that it had a free run and that it extended this free run both in space and time', says Karl Heinz Sterzenbach. Since the owner is unknown, the Serval would be legally a find animal.
The municipality does not see this as a danger situation, says the first deputy, who however feels sorry for the animal. The African wild cats only occur in the wild in sub-Saharan Africa, i.e. in much warmer climates. There they inhabit different types of grassland or areas with light tree cover. The community of Eitorf therefore appeals to the keeper to stop permitting the free run of the animal and to guarantee the animal a species-appropriate keeping.
It is a fact that the animals are subject to compulsory registration. According to the district spokeswoman, no serval is currently registered in Eitorf. The last animal died there two years ago and had been properly registered. In the rest of the Rhein-Sieg district, some servals are currently registered, but nothing is known of an animal that has escaped. It is rather unlikely that someone has simply abandoned the valuable animal - the prices for one of those range between 4000 and 6000 Euro.
(Original text: Inga Sprünken; Translation: Mareike Graepel)
