The father of star Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is being probed after Ohio police shot a wild, Serval cat near his home, according to NBC4i.com.
The mid-sized, spotted feline — a breed that can stand two feet at the shoulder and weigh up to 40 pounds — was first seen Saturday.
The cat had attacked a dog, leading people in the Ohio neighborhood to call authorities. A deputy shot the animal, which is a species of wild cat native to Africa, Sunday.
Ohio Department of Agriculture investigators executed a search warrant at the home of Stacy Elliott, the father of the Cowboys’ star, who played college ball at Ohio State, Wednesday.
“I don’t know how long it had been out [or] when it had last eaten, but over time they’re going to resort back to their normal behaviors,” Chief Deputy Alex Lape told WBNS-10TV.
Jim Zuber says he and a neighbor first saw the serval Saturday.
“It just creeped along between my bushes and the house here and it literally came up to the front door,” Zuber said. “So we cautiously stayed out in the front yard as it went around the side of the house.”
Zuber said the serval had a collar on but clearly exhibited wild instincts.
“It was kind of creeping towards us and as we took a step backward, it would take steps toward us and when we made noise to shush it away, it hunched back in a position to leap forward,” he said.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture said there were no permits for such a cat in Fairfield County. It’s a first-degree misdemeanor in Ohio to not have a permit and a fifth-degree felony for allowing an exotic animal to escape.
