June 29 (UPI) -- A jaguar that roamed residential neighborhoods in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu over the weekend was safely captured Sunday following a joint operation involving wildlife specialists, environmental authorities and security forces, the institutions involved said.
The animal, estimated to be between 4 and 5 years old, was first spotted Saturday morning when security cameras in the Três Lagoas neighborhood recorded the feline walking through streets, sidewalks and parks, ABC Color reported.
The jaguar, the largest feline in the Americas, is classified as Near Threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.
After the initial reports, specialists from the Onças do Iguaçu Project and Itaipu's Bela Vista Biological Refuge tracked the animal's footprints and confirmed that it had temporarily returned to a nearby forested area.
The jaguar reappeared Sunday morning in the Jardim Cedro neighborhood, where specialized veterinary teams sedated and captured it without incident.
