The animal, which showed no signs of aggression, was reported by residents of the town of Vézelois. He is preparing to be permanently transferred to the Saint-Martin-la-Plaine zoo, in the Loire.
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A serval, an animal common in Africa and living mainly in humid savannahs, was captured on Tuesday February 20 in the middle of the street in Vézelois, in the Territoire de Belfort, reports France Bleu Belfort-Montbéliard.
It was local residents who alerted the firefighters at the end of the morning, to inform them of the presence of this feline near numerous homes. The animal, carnivorous, fortunately showed no signs of aggression. Specialized agents from the French Biodiversity Office (OFB) were dispatched to the site to capture it, notably with the help of a veterinarian from Alsace to put the animal to sleep using a hypodermic gun.
A return to the wild impossible
According to the first elements of observation, it is a serval, a feline originating from Africa whose domestic keeping is prohibited in France. The serval in question, whose origin is still unknown, spent the night at the Belfort SPA, before being transferred this Wednesday to the Citadelle zoological park, in Besançon (Doubs). It is not equipped with any chip to identify it. A return to its original habitat is only possible if it is identified and capable of being reintroduced into the wild.
The animal will remain in Besançon while awaiting a final transfer to the Saint-Martin-la-Plaine zoo, near Saint-Etienne (Loire). A gendarmerie investigation was opened to determine why this serval was in the middle of the street, in an environment that is not his.
