Looks tame so obviously a former house pet. I wonder how many of them are out there?

Serval in New Mexico park- video

That is larger than a Maine Coon Cat!

Closer to the weight of our Texas bobcat.

Maybe not so large as the lynx.

There are lots of people here in the US breeding those for the exotic pet trade. I'm sure he just got loose from somebody.

Here is a breeding pair for $7500...

https://www.exoticanimalsforsa...t/animalsforsale.asp

or a baby for $3500....

https://www.exoticanimalsforsa...val-kitten-available

More likely he got to be too much trouble and the owner dumped him.

well, maybe he will become a snack for a cougar.

Will it survive the new mexico winter even if it doesn't become cougar food? If it was just tossed because it was too much trouble then the owner was cruel by leaving it in such a hard winter climate. There is always someone that will take it and provide a home for it.

I reckon there are some 'righties' trying to trap it by now to put it in a zoo or euthanize it.

Edit: The serval reported to be roaming near Hyde Memorial State Park in Santa Fe was captured early Thursday morning by New Mexico Department or Game and Fish Conservation Officer, Manuel Overby. The Sub-Saharan African species is not endangered, but is illegal to import and/or possess in New Mexico. The serval will be taken to the Albuquerque Zoo and held until a permanent home is determined.

Wish I would have saw this a few months ago, I could have taken the fox pro up there and dropped him off at the taxidermist.

I am sure that is what probably happened to him anyway, as soon as the story was posted.

There used to be a guy in the DFW area of Texas that raised Serval cats. When I was in Zambia near Lusaka at the Crock farm a serval walked up on the patio to a feeder while we were sitting there talking. (PH)Simon Eldredge asked me if I knew where that cat came from. My reply was the bush I would assume. He laughed and said "that cat was born ten miles from your home in Arlington Texas!"
(owner of Malombo safaris)Charl Beucus had bought it and brought it home as a pet when they were in Dallas at the Dallas safari show.

…...……............…….. MacD37

Reminds me of the Salt River "wild" horses with whom too many people seem to be enraptured; constantly taking photographs.

They are not wild; they are feral. The population doubled in size during the GFC because folks could not pay to feed their horses, so they let them loose. I suspect it will grow again with Covid.