African wild cat captured after going on cocaine-fuelled escape from the police

An African wild cat was eventually captured by police after a cocaine-fuelled escape from cops.

The African serval, an endangered species, escaped from its owner’s car and police and raced up a tree following a traffic stop in January.

Police in Cincinnati, Ohio, were arresting a man when the drug-fuelled escape from authorities began.

They described it as a “leopard” in the tree, local media reported, and footage of the escaped wild animal, named Amiry, showed it crouching in the branch at night.

But it became even more bizarre after police eventually wrangled and captured the wild animal.

Amiry was described as "not excited" to be removed from the tree they had fled to (Cincinnati Animal CARE)

Amid testing to ascertain its species, experts discovered the cat was actually high as a kite, when it tested positive for cocaine.

It is not quite known how the 15kg cat, illegal to own in Ohio, came into contact with the drugs and whether it was “environmental or experimental”.

Chief dog warden Troy Taylor told local station WKRC: “These types of animals are considered dangerous,”.

Animal experts at Cincinnati Animal CARE looking after the wild cat after its leg was broken during its capture (Cincinnati Animal CARE)

Initially, experts thought it was a hybrid cat, and were shocked to find out it was in fact a serval, a native species to parts of the African Savannah.

Servals can grow to three times as big as a normal cat, weighing 9-18kg. They can jump up to 7ft in the air and are known for having the largest ears of any cat.

The furry fugitive was captured but in the process its leg was broken, before it was taken to Cincinnati Animal Care.

It isn't known how the 15kg wild cat got cocaine, nor how much it took (Cincinnati Animal CARE)

Amiry required medical attention after his leg was broken (Cincinnati Animal CARE)

Ray Anderson, a part of the animal care shelter, said Amiry was “not excited” to be removed from the tree.

He told Fox19: “In the process of getting the cat out of the tree ... obviously, the cat didn’t want to get out of the tree ... and our officers were working really hard to make sure they didn’t lose the cat in the process ... yeah, the leg was broken in the process”.

Officials then rushed him to the animal care centre where he was given medication, but they later found he was already on some pretty strong stuff.

Results were positive for the serval having cocaine in its system.

Police didn’t press charges with Amiry’s owner and the serval was taken to Cincinnati Zoo to begin his rehab, where a spokesperson said: “The serval has been receiving veterinary care in our Animal Health Center since he was brought here.

“He’s doing well, and the next step will be for our Cat Ambassador Program team to work with him and determine if he’s a good fit to be an ambassador animal. He will likely be behind the scenes for a while.”