An African wildcat caught near Georgia Tech early Thursday is now on lock down and its owner could face misdemeanor criminal charges for bringing the illegal pet into the state.

Fulton County Animals Services shelter is now holding the tan, black-and white spotted serval, but will turn over custody to the Department of Natural Resources sometime Friday.

Fulton County

Animal control officers captured this serval, a wildcat normally found in Africa, near Georgia Tech early Thursday morning.

Related links: • Wild animals in Georgia • See who holds wild animal permits Recent headlines: [an error occurred while processing this directive]    • Atlanta and Fulton County news

The DNR is working to locate its owner and find out how the animal found its way from the African savannahs to Atlanta. Several people have claimed the potentially dangerous cat, which may have been loose as long as two days before its capture.

The agency's investigation could result in misdemeanor charges against the owner — including unlawful possession of a wild animal and allowing a wild animal to escape — said John Bowers, a DNR assistant chief.

Georgia prohibits owning such exotic wild animals as pets, but does grant special licenses to wild animal businesses, zoos or circuses.

The cat could end up the care of one the state's current 119 licensees, Bowers said.

Common to Africa south of the Sahara, servals are slender with long necks, small heads and large, cupped ears. They can grow to more than 40 inches and weigh as much as 33 pounds, according to Britannica.com. The site describes them as swift and agile nocturnal hunters able to climb and leap well.

Fulton Animal Control used a net to capture the exotic animal on 14th Street near Holly Street just before 3 a.m. in response to multiple calls reporting a large, wildcat in the area.

"It took quite a bit of time," said Jere Alexander, Fulton's animal services director. "The cat was elusive and hiding in the bushes."

Held in a kennel by itself, the serval has acted very docile and defensive.

"It hisses. It's crouched low," Alexander said. "He seems scared but he's doing fine. He's beautiful and healthy."

The cat was first reported as a lynx, then a ocelot and with the name "Ozzie" until the DNR helped clear up the mystery by identifying him as a serval.

In 2006, a serval roamed the Mount Paran area of Buckhead after escaping from its owner who raises exotic cats for money.