Ohio animal control officers may have discovered a real-life sequel to the movie Cocaine Bear, a true story of a black bear that ingested a deadly dosage of illegal drugs, but this time it involves an exotic cat.
In January, Hamilton County dog wardens responded to complaints of a "leopard" sighted in an Oakley tree. They went to rescue the animal and take it to Cincinnati Animal Care.
Exotic Serval Cat Tested Positive for Cocaine
Cleveland.com reports that local zoo officials rescued the wild cat from the tree and transported it to Cincinnati Animal Care (CAC), despite the fact that it suffered a fractured leg in the process.
CAC community engagement manager Ray Anderson told Cincinnati NBC affiliate WLWT that a DNA test revealed the cat, named "Amiry," was an unusual breed known as a serval. Anderson noted that they initially thought it was a hybrid F1 Savannah as it can be legally owned in Ohio.
But an animal expert reveal that Amiry was a serval that is illegal to own in the state, though not in neighboring states of Kentucky and Indiana.
If its presence in the state has drawn attention already, experts are even more shocked upon testing Amiry. As per HuffPost, the exotic serval cat tested positive for cocaine. Authorities still do not know how as it remains a mystery.
In an interview with WXIX TV, Anderson said that they cannot say how the animal got the cocaine in its system and are unsure whether it could be a result of an environmental or experimental.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati Zoo said in its statement quoted by HuffPost that the serval cat has been receiving appropriate veterinary care since it was brought to the zoo. The exotic cat is doing well and the next step they plan to take is to determine if he is a good fit to be an ambassador animal. For now, it will be kept behind the scenes for a while. Anderson told HuffPost that the investigation is still ongoing and that things might change if further information becomes available.
Cocaine Bear, Other Inebriated Animals
The movie Cocaine Bear is based on the true story of a brown bear who consumed a number of narcotics an amount worth as much as $20 million, according to the Associated Press. Although the movie has been wildly exaggerated, inebriated animals are not totally unheard of.
Perhaps one of the most common examples is a cat exposed to catnip (Nepeta cataria). Cats would immediately begin showing signs of intoxication through rolling, drooling, and hunting for non-existent prey. According to Popular Mechanics, the chemical that causes this reaction is called nepetalactone, which is used in humans to create a sedative effect.
Furthermore, dolphins may also get high by carefully passing around pufferfish. The said fish produces toxins that induce a trance-like state in marine mammals,
Another example of an intoxicated animal is lemurs chewing on toxic millipedes that also release a rare form of narcotic lichen. Even monkeys are notorious lushes and can get from a fruit they regularly eat as part of their diet.
RELATED ARTICLE: Wild Fish Addicted to Methamphetamine: How the Stimulant Possibly Affects Wild Brown Trout
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