Endangered big cat captured in suburban neighborhood

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (WLS) — A potentially dangerous burglar in a suburban Chicago neighborhood was finally caught Tuesday, only this suspect turns out to be a rare and endangered big cat.

A caracal was captured by Hoffman Estates police after prowling the neighborhood near Hilldale Golf Club.

“The moment I saw it, I thought to myself, I have no idea what this is. It’s not normal,” said owner Jan Hoffman-Rau.

Hoffman-Rau owns the officers surrounded just after 8 a.m. Tuesday.

One of his neighbors called the police after spotting the animal in his yard.

The cat retreated below Hoffman-Rau’s deck as police approached, and eventually officers used a tranquilizer rifle to sedate the animal.

“This is a first for us. It’s nice that the neighborhood doesn’t have to worry about a cat,” said Deputy Chief James Thomas of the Hoffman Estates Police Department. “Everyone can walk their dogs and go about their daily lives.”

It took about a dozen police officers more than two hours to finally corner this criminal feline. But once they did, it was all over.

The cat is now in custody and has gone to the Valley of the Kings Sanctuary and Retreat, an exotic animal sanctuary in Wisconsin.”

“It’s a very young cat. I would say probably eight months to a year of age is all,” said Jill Carnegie, sanctuary representative. “So it has to be someone’s pet that they had and let go. They are not pets.”

Carnegie drove more than an hour to pick up the cat. She said it was fortunate for the neighbors and the caracal that it was captured.

“They can kill a small child. They can kill your cats. They can kill your dogs,” she said. “And usually, as they grow and if they’re aggressive, people can’t handle them and so they abandon them.”

Instead, the caracal capture has a perfect result.

“A happy ending. Yes. It came out from under my deck,” Hoffman-Rau said.

Caracals are native to Asia and Africa.

It is legal to own them as pets in some states, but South Carolina, Idaho and Iowa require owners to have a license.