VIRGINIA BEACH—A big African cat has been prowling around Virginia’s largest city.
The Virginian-Pilot reported Thursday, April 11, that animal control officials say the serval cat roamed from his owner’s house on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to Virginia Beach, a distance of about 80 miles.
UPDATE: "Rocky" the serval's owner has been located, but unfortunately, the batteries in his GPS tracking collar died…
Posted by Virginia Beach City Government on Thursday, April 11, 2019
The cat named Rocky disappeared from Kitty Hawk in October. Owner Brian Hankins is traveling north to help city workers capture him. Hankins says Rocky is very friendly.
“The cat may be social with humans, however, Animal Control does not suggest anyone approach or interact with it,” said the city of Virginia Beach’s Facebook post. “This type of cat is known to eat small rodents, such as mice and squirrels, as well as small birds,” it added.
Serval cats can stand up to 2 feet high and weigh as much as 40 pounds. The lanky, spotted cats have long necks and large ears.
PLEASE SHARE: This morning, Animal Control responded to a sighting of an exotic cat near the 2300 block of Shore Dr….
Posted by Virginia Beach City Government on Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Animal Control supervisor Meghan Conti said Rocky likely traveled up the Atlantic Coast and ate a fair share of seagulls along the way. The route includes parks and wildlife refuges.
“IF YOU SEE HIM, PLEASE NOTIFY DISPATCH ASAP at 757-385-5000,” officials warned.
“He is not dangerous to children or dogs or other cats,” Hankins wrote on the city’s Facebook page.
The serval is well-known to residents of the Outer Banks, North Carolina, and has been “spotted many times and caught on security camera footage,” OBXToday.com reported.
“Traps have been set and wildlife trackers have worked to find him, but the elusive feline evaded capture,” said OBXToday.com on April 10.
Hankins said that the serval can travel up to 20 miles per day and has been traveling between Virginia Beach and Kitty Hawk, WVEC reported.
While North Carolina is one of a few states that does not regulate ownership of exotic animals, Dare County Manager and Attorney Robert Outten told OBXToday.com that Rocky’s owner might face a penalty.
One ordinance requires that a “vicious, fierce or dangerous animal” be restrained or confined.
“It allows impoundment and if it meets certain conditions ultimately it may be destroyed,” Outten told the news website, which also reported that Rocky has killed a number of local residents’ chickens. WYFF reported that he is known to eat seagulls.
The African Wildlife Foundation says “servals are common on savannas where there is plenty of water” and “prefer areas of bush, tall grass, and dry reed beds near streams, but they are also found in high-altitude moorlands and bamboo thickets.”
“They are found in most parts of Africa, with the exception of Central Equatorial Africa, the very Southern part of the continent, and the Sahara region,” it says.
According to the International Society for Endangered Cats (ISEC) organization, servals are not endangered and have a stable population.
“The main predators on Servals are Leopards (Panthera pardus), dogs, and humans. Their fine markings make them a prime target for poachers, serval skins are also sold as young Leopard or Cheetah, which are much more scarce. This pelt trade appears to be domestic for traditional ceremonial or medicinal purposes,” it says.
Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
