CORRECTION: The location of the Cricket Wildlife Center was incorrectly identified as Alburtis.
DISTRICT TWP., Pa. — A wildlife rehabilitation center is asking the public for help in locating three African cats that escaped after winds damaged several enclosures.
A storm Wednesday night that brought wind gusts upwards of 47 mph left thousands of residents without power also brought down trees throughout the area.
It also damaged several enclosures at the Cricket Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Berks County — a few miles from the Lehigh County line and Alburtis area.
"If anyone sees them, please call us immediately... They are older animals so their ability to care for themselves is not good."Cricket Wildlife Rehabilitation Center owner Melissa Descant
Center owner Melissa Descant said all the center's residents are accounted for except for three African servals.
"A tree fell on the pen, allowing the three cats to escape (they are the last 3 from our time doing lesser cat rescue)," a Facebook post from Cricket Wildlife Rehabilitation Center reads.
"If anyone sees them, please call us immediately... They are older animals so their ability to care for themselves is not good."
Descant now is asking the community to contact the wildlife center at 717-381-9893 if any of the African cats are spotted.
'Very sweet'
Descant said servals can tend to look larger because "they're long legged, they're lanky," but "they're like very large house cats."
Details about the species vary online from other wildlife rehabilitation centers and animal nonprofits, but most refer to servals as being "medium-sized."
"He'll probably have no problem walking up to people to be loved."Cricket Wildlife Rehabilitation Center owner Melissa Descant
The African Wildlife Foundation suggests the cats can reach 23 inches in body length and the International Fund for Animal Welfare says they can stand over 19 inches tall.
Known for their leopard-like coat prints, the African cats weigh about 20 pounds, Descant said.
"They're rescues, but they're at least 10-12 years old," Descant said of the three missing from the center. "So their lifespan is similar to a typical housecat."
Descant wants the public to know their behavior is similar to that of a typical house cat, too.
She described one of the cats as "very sweet."
"He'll probably have no problem walking up to people to be loved," she said.
But she said but the other two are shy and likely to run and hide.
'Not dangerous to the public'
"They're good cats, they're not dangerous," Descant said. "They've been raised with house cats, they've been raised with children. They're not dangerous to the public."
Descant said she hadn't received any calls about the servals as of late Thursday afternoon.
"We imagine they'll probably stay in the woods and try to keep to themselves, but we can't say with certainty," she said.
She said she's unsure of how far the trio could travel.
"I just want people to know they're not a threat to their pets or children. Just give us a call" if you see them.Cricket Wildlife Rehabilitation Center owner Melissa Descant
Those details also vary online, but Descant said she's been reading up on other cases of servals escaping, and "one person said they found theirs about 30 miles away."
For now, Descant said she thinks the African cats can bear the weather, but "probably not later into the winter."
The species is used to a warmer climate and prefers to stay inside their heated habitat during most of the colder months, she said.
"I just want people to know they're not a threat to their pets or children," Descant said. If you see them, she said, "Just give us a call."
