CORRECTION: This article originally reported that the cats were housed in a north Long Beach apartment; they were actually being kept in a Los Alamitos apartment. This error was due a source providing the wrong address.
Three African servals being kept as pets were found after escaping from a Los Alamitos apartment this past weekend.
The servals, common throughout sub-Saharan Africa and known as tiger-forest-cats with cheetah-like spots, were captured by Long Animal Care Services within days of them being reported missing. The animals are not entirely uncommon as exotic pets. The most recent public case involves a Canadian family who has refused to follow orders by the government to release their serval, which Canadian officials deemed as a public threat.
Two females were found just a few blocks away from the apartment on Saturday, located on the 4100 block of Farquhar Avenue and immediately transported to the Forever Wild Cat Sanctuary in Phelan. The lone male was eventually found Sunday evening perusing near the owner’s apartment; he will be sent to the sanctuary as well.
“They were not out stalking people,” said Animal Care Services Manager Ted Stevens. “They were only a danger if cornered.”
California Fish and Game officers were investigating whether regulations against possessing a serval without a permit were violated, Stevens noted.
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