In the Oktyabrsky district, after a week of searching, they caught a lynx seen on city streets since December 3. The predator had been to a cemetery, ran through yards, and, according to witnesses, fed on birds, cats, and dogs, until it hid in a basement on Volzhskaya Street. Now specialists are determining whether it is wild or domestic, and that will decide whether it is released back into the wild or sent to a sanctuary.
Throughout this entire week, the forest predator was seen in the Oktyabrsky District. Finally, yesterday it was caught.What brought the animal into the city is still unknown.
The lynx was first spotted on December 3 at the Lisikhinsky Cemetery. They immediately tried to catch the wild cat and set traps, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
For a whole week, the predator ran through the streets, feeding on birds, cats, and dogs. But they could not track down the runaway.
Finally, one of the residents of an apartment building on Volzhskaya Street noticed that it had climbed into the basement. A team from the K-9 kennel was called. After barricading all the entrances to the basement, kennel staff and dogs spent several hours catching the animal. The lynx broke free from the nets several times, but then it finally grew tired and huddled in a corner, where it was caught.
According to specialists, the animal is healthy and is about 2 years old. There are two main versions of how it ended up on the city streets: either it came from the forest, or, more likely, it lived with people and simply ran away. Now the specialists’ main task is to determine whether it is a wild animal or a domestic one. The animal's future depends on this. If the lynx grew up in the wild, it will be taken far from the city and released; it has no injuries and is able to feed itself. If the predator is domestic, it will not survive in the forest. Most likely, it will then be placed in one of the city’s kennels.