HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — A wild caracal, which is typically found in Africa and parts of Asia, has been successfully captured after being spotted in a Chicago suburb.

Authorities used a specialized pole with a cord to trap the caracal on Tuesday as it was hiding beneath a home’s deck in Hoffman Estates, located about 33 miles (53 kilometers) northwest of downtown Chicago.

The large feline was first noticed in the area the previous week, generating significant interest among local residents.

An animal sanctuary in Wisconsin is scheduled to take the caracal, as officials reported that the animal was uninjured and would be relocated to provide it with a safe and happy life away from the suburban environment.

Local resident Jan Hoffman-Rau shared her experience with a news station, stating that she had taken pictures of the cat in her backyard on Friday morning.

She recounted, “Then it starts coming up on my deck, jumped on my deck, actually looked at me through the window.”

Caracals are known to inhabit regions in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and India, where they typically hunt small mammals, birds, and rodents. However, the origin of this particular caracal’s presence in Hoffman Estates remains a mystery.

In recent years, there have been other incidents involving escaped caracals in the United States. In 2021, a woman in a suburban area near Detroit received a citation and was instructed to relocate her four African caracals after one managed to escape its enclosure.

Furthermore, back in 2019, police in Bloomington, Illinois, had to euthanize a caracal after it escaped its owner’s control. The animal had reportedly scratched a woman and her daughter and posed a threat to a medium-sized dog.

The caracal showed erratic behavior, which prompted law enforcement to act for the safety of both the public and the animal itself.