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Rare, Exotic Wild Cat Is Roaming Chicago, Illinois Suburbs

A resident of Hoffman Estates, Illinois was shocked to spot a rare and exotic wild cat—a caracal—in her backyard in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. Jan Hoffman-Rau told local news that she first saw the animal on Friday morning. It jumped up onto her back deck and looked at her through the window. Hoffman-Rau took some photos of the caracal and told CBS Chicago that she thought to herself “What in the hell is that?”

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The local police department has confirmed the cat is a caracal and posted a warning to the community on Facebook. Caracals live in Africa, the Middle East, and India, so what’s this one doing in Illinois? Good question. No one knows.

“At this time, it is unknown where the animal came from,” the police department wrote in its Facebook post. “The village is currently working with local and federal agencies for proper removal.”

See the caracal hanging out near Chicago, Illinois here:


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