Escaped African serval found 'sitting in the sun' on Vancouver Island

One of two African servals that was still at large on Vancouver Island on Friday has been located, according to its owner.

Sylvia Lammers' large exotic cat, Cassia, escaped her Brentwood Bay, B.C., home twice this week. The first time was on Sunday, when the cat apparently learned how to open the home's back door.

"We thought it was our error that we left the door open, not realizing that she had figured it out," Lammers told CTV News on Thursday.

Lammers was able to coax Cassia back home with treats, but then she went missing again on Monday.

On Friday, Lammers said the African serval had been found and recovered not far from where a trap had been set up to catch her.

She says Cassia was found at a rural home that had a long private driveway.

"There she was sitting in the sun on the patio," Lammers told CTV News.

The cat owner says she knocked on the home's front door but no one was there. Eventually, the owners grabbed Cassia's crate and tried to coax the cat inside with more treats.

The serval seemed uninterested until Lammers slowly walked around the animal and approached it from behind.

"She got up and literally trotted into the crate," said Lammers. "I shut the door and melted in a blubbery pool of tears."

OTHER ESCAPES

Cassia was the third African serval to go missing on Vancouver Island this week.

On Sunday, two servals were reportedly let loose from their enclosure in Qualicum Beach, B.C., before one or both of the exotic pets killed a domestic cat.

One of the pair was located on Wednesday, while the other remains unaccounted for as of Friday.

African servals are not listed under B.C.'s controlled animal regulations, and can be legally owned in the province.

Their ownership is controversial, however, with some municipalities banning exotic felines like servals. The BC SPCA also describes them as difficult to care for in a domestic setting.

On Thursday, Lammers pushed back on the idea that African servals are wild animals and said they have been domesticated for generations.

She added that Cassia had always been raised as a pet and would not be able survive on her own. 

Local organization ROAM, which helps track down missing pets in Greater Victoria, says many community members chipped in to help find Cassia.

"In this particular case, this type of cat has gotten a bad rap," said Terry Mah, an administrator with ROAM.

He says that some people became concerned after the domestic cat was killed in the Qualicum area.

"Servals can be quite vicious and mean but this cat doesn't have a mean bone in its body and it's been really living as a pet," he said.

"In this case the response from the community was really great. We had a lot of eyes, people were really generally happy to help out," said Mah.