Game wardens are searching for an exotic wild cat near a Buckhead country club after a woman said it entered her home and jumped on her bed while she was sleeping.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources said the agency is searching for a serval, a large cat native to Africa. The search is primarily near the Capital City Country Club, which straddles the border between Buckhead and Brookhaven.
On Wednesday, a Club Drive resident called Fulton County Animal Services to report that a large wild cat was in her bedroom. No one was hurt, but her husband was able to take photos of the fleeing serval and provide them to state authorities.
Mark McKinnon, DNR spokesman, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution they received two other calls from the area about the wild animal, which was last seen near the country club’s golf course. It’s illegal to have servals, which are often mistaken as cheetahs or leopards, as pets in Georgia.
The search remains active. McKinnon said game wardens placed a trap Thursday in one of the yards where the animal was seen. Once captured, the Animal Legal Defense Fund has offered to place it in an animal sanctuary in North Carolina.
Anyone who spots the serval is asked to contact the DNR at 770-918-6408.
