A young cheetah was trapped when wandering the streets of Abu Dhabi, says its local Wildlife Protection Authority.
CNN was told that the wild cat was spotted behind a house in the capital of the Al-Karameh region Sunday morning. The police and wildlife protection experts were alerted to the site and the wounded cheetah was captured by a pet catcher who happened to be passing by.
No one was injured in the event.
The cheetah, suffering from a broken front right paw, was taken to the Abu Dhabi wildlife center for medical treatment.
Cheetahs are indigenous to Africa and parts of the Far East. None have been known to be found in the United Arab Emirates region.
According to the International Federation of Nature Preservation, cheetahs are categorized as an endangered species. There are only about 7,500 remaining in the wild.
Speculation abounds as to the source of the cheetah, which might have been the private pet of an Arab tycoon living in Abu Dhabi, an escapee from a wildlife preserve or zoo, or possibly - for those with an imaginative bent - a curious cheetah who left his pack in Africa or the Far East to see the world, as did the grey whale seen off Israel's coast in December of last year.