Wild cat native to Asia and Africa caught in Chicago suburbs: ‘Can kill a small child’

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. ( WGN ) – An exotic cat native to parts of Asia and Africa has been captured after it was found wandering a suburb of Chicago, police said earlier this week.

The cat, a caracal, was sighted in Hoffman Estates on Monday and again around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, local police said. Authorities found the large cat unharmed, hiding under a resident's deck.

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Once the cat was in custody, police called Jill Carnegie, with the Valley of the Kings Sanctuary and Retreat in Sharon, Wisconsin, to transfer the cat to their facility.

"Definitely a first," Carnegie told Nexstar's WGN. "Very interesting because usually, animal control is called to get them."

Carnegie estimates the cat to be about 8 months to 1 year old.

"It has to be someone's pet that they had and let go."

Caracals can be legally purchased and kept as pets in a number of states. But Carnegie warned that the animals require specialized care.

"They're not pets, but unfortunately, anybody and everybody can buy these animals," she said. "They can kill a small child. They can kill your cat. They can kill your dog. And usually, as they grow, and if they're aggressive, people can't handle them, so they dump them."

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Caracals, an internationally protected species , are native to Africa, the Middle East and India, per the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. But this particular cat — which Carnegie has named Kabuki — will join other large and small cats in calling Wisconsin home after its move to Valley of the Kings Sanctuary and Retreat.

Carnegie said the cat will thrive at the facility.

"We have a huge, monstrous enclosure with nice grass and a heated den," Carnegie said. "She's going to love it."