At the end of 2019, the local veterinary authorities of Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, in Germany had been receiving multiple reports of sightings of an unusual animal in the forests. With the identification being some kind of wild cat, specialist wildlife experts set up wildlife cameras and live traps in order to track the animals movements, which finally led to the capture of the mysterious creature! It turned out, that the exotic wild cat was in fact a male serval, a small wildcat native to Africa. After the beautiful cat was captured, local authorities tried to track down the owner, although it is possible to legally keep such an exotic animal in private keeping with a license, there had been no reports as to an escaped serval in the surrounding area. The male wild cat was very emaciated and had no microchip, so the authorities had no opportunity to be able to track where he had come from and how he came to end up in the forest. 

The assumption was made that as no known attempts to track him down were made by the owner, that he has escaped or abandoned after being illegally kept in private. Read more about exotic pets here!

In mid-February 2020, the veterinary office asked TIERART Wild Animal Sanctuary for a permanent solution to accommodate the cat. As nothing was known about his past, he had to undergo several weeks of quarantine in a specialised facility before he was about to be officially transferred to TIERART Wild Animal Sanctuary. With specialist veterinary care, he was able to gain strength and receive vaccinations, deworming and be chipped according to regulations for the species. 

When he arrived at TIERART Wild Animal Sanctuary, the community was asked to pick a fitting name, it was decided that he will be called Kiano (meaning ‘full of joy’ in African). 

He finally was moved into a large enclosure at the sanctuary, although he is shy at first, we can see he is slowly coming out of his shell. He now enjoys sitting and relaxing on the rocks in the sun.

Since his arrival at TIERART Wild Animal Sanctuary in April, this lovely boy is still quite shy but loves to explore his large enclosure at the sanctuary ! He has taken some time to adapt to his new surroundings, and is still bashful with his caretakers, preferring to hide and observe from a distance when they are around. Despite this, he is a curious cat and his health has improved drastically since his rescue from the forests.