An exotic feline, a caracal, was discovered in the canton of Jura. This neighbor of the lynx could have escaped illegal detention in a private home. Although it is harmless to humans, it has no place in this region.
The Jura has become accustomed to the lynx, but nothing had prepared a walker to come face to face with its African cousin, the caracal. “I saw two eyes in the night in the light of a headlamp. We had to approach and then realize that it was not a lynx,” confides David Lehmann on Tuesday in the 7:30 p.m.
This male feline does not represent any real danger, even if he does not fear approaching humans, to the point of showing the tips of his ears again on Monday in the middle of the village of Courgenay.
“It is a species which has absolutely nothing to do in our territory,” underlines Amaury Boillat, wildlife inspector for the canton of Jura. Its presence in the Jura is due to human action. This male came either from an official park where he was detained or, worse, from illegal detention, according to this specialist.
A very trendy animal
This type of animal is subject to the current fad of having domestic felines at home. A trend reinforced by certain influencers, like the rapper Gims, who show off with a caracal on social networks.
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“Some people just imagine being able to keep a big cat at home, but that never works. It’s a source of crazy problems, not to mention their suffering. Sorry, these animals have no place in living rooms. They are acts to be condemned”, deplores Marc Ziehlmann, director of Sikypark de Crémines, an animal rescue park.
But far from the glitter, the Jura caracal could find refuge in a more suitable place. This is what happened to Marte, another specimen also coming from a seizure in Switzerland and which was collected at Sikypark.
The Jura caracal should be captured in the coming days, if possible alive. The priority is not to leave him in this nature which is not his.
>> Listen to the subject of La Matinale: Jura, the authorities try to capture a caracal / La Matinale / 1 min. / yesterday at 06:23
TV subject: Vincent Jacquat
Adaptation web: seb