Walter Finch
A large cat weighing 20 kilograms was captured after a homeowner reported what he thought was a lynx lurking in the garden of his Marbella residence.
Officials from the Marbella Animal Health Team arrived and identified it as a caracat, which is a hybrid between a desert lynx and an Abyssinian cat.
The creature is classified as a ‘potentially dangerous domestic animal’.
It had escaped from its home in Nueva Andalucía and roamed almost 20 kilometres before entering the garden of the property in the Costabella neighbourhood.
The 20-kilogram animal, named Jakar, disappeared on January 1 from its owner’s home on Avenida del Prado in Nueva Andalucía.
The first alert was issued in the Costabella area as the cat had apparently prowled 20 kilometres in a number of hours.
Emergency services received a call reporting a medium-sized animal lurking in the bushes that could have been a lynx.
Officers from the Civil Guard went to the scene and saw from photographs taken by the neighbour who made the report that the creature was wearing a collar, indicating it was a pet.
They tried to track it down, however the beast proved elusive.
The following day, a new alert was received from the owner of a property where the caracat had entered the garden, who also believed it was a lynx.
The Civil Guard went to the property and notified the municipal animal health team to capture the animal.
The caracat was then taken to the El Paraiso zoosanitary park, where it was found to be in good health.
It is currently awaiting its owner to present the necessary documentation before it can return home.
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