For Arabian tea buff , the prospect of waking to find oneself a feline has snuck into your bed could well be a very welcome one . That might exchange however if the feline in inquiry was a serval ( Leptailurus serval ) . This exact scenario late unfolded in Atlanta , US , where a woman arouse early one morning time to get hold the large , exotic big cat in her layer . Being endemic to country across Africa , serval are not a coinage you expect to see in the state of Georgia , allow alone wake up to find one mere inches from your face .
Speaking toCNN , Kristine Frank explicate that it was quickly manifest that the bottom - hopping computed tomography burglar that jumped onto her bed just 15 centimeters ( 6 inches ) from her case was no ordinary house cat . " I said , ' That ’s not a normal house cat . I do n’t get laid what that is , but I am terrified right now .
“ Afterwards I was like , ' Was that a bobcat ? Was it a leopard ? Was it a baby ? Was it a mom ? "
Felis serval are medium - sized wild cats , usually hit up to 60 centimeters ( 24 in ) at the shoulder joint , with long legs , and can jump up to 1.5 meter ( 5 foot ) in the line . They also have spot coat and the big pinna of any cat , commonly to help them hunt by hearing tiny movements of target in the long dope of Africa ’s savannas .
Fortunately , the incident did n’t leave in injury to Frank or the serval , whose parentage is unknown but is expected to be a pet belong to someone in the local area . grant to a report fromWHSV3 , Lt . Wayne Hubbard of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources ( GDNR ) said that while the Felis serval is probably a pet it is really illegal to keep them in Georgia . As such , local authorities are work to trammel the animal as it should not be fall to its possessor nor allow to live in the wilderness as a non - aboriginal , rapacious species .
" When jurisprudence enforcement is hopefully able-bodied to pin down her we desire that she is then plant to an licensed asylum where she can survive out the rest of her lifetime in an appropriate habitat , " Animal Legal Defense Fund Senior Legislative Affairs Manager Alicia Prygoski toldCNN .
" Wild cats are not meant for private self-possession . The angry cat trade in this commonwealth is really not well regulated , which results in many metal money of wild cats , including Felis serval , living out their life in secret homes which are not adequate environments for the raw behaviour that they exhibit . "
Here ’s another angle.pic.twitter.com/bvl5g9kzYp
The experience was no doubt a frightening one for Frank , and while it ’s not normal to encounter wild cats in suburban office of America their extemporary appearances certainly have precedent . Earlier this year atiger was recognize wandering the streets of Houstonafter run away from its owner ’s home . Videos show the Panthera tigris almost follow to harm itself as it approaches someone pointing a gun at the animate being . Tigers also are n’t permitted as pets in this part of the US , but it seems such sanctions often do little to dissuade people from keeping alien cats as domestic pets .
[ H / T : CNN ]
