Couple charged in relation to cheetah spotted wandering in B.C.

Two peoplehave been chargeda year after a cheetah was spotted wandering along a B.C. highway.

Retirees EarlPfeiferand Carol Plato each face one count ofpossessing an alien species that is, any animal that isn't native to the province without a permit.

The animalwasseen on the side of Highway 3A northeast of Nelson, B.C., on Dec. 17, 2015. RCMP warnedresidents to be on the lookout for the big, possibly dangerous cat wearing an orange cloth collar.

Conservation officers began lookingfor the endangered animal, but the search was called off the following week after no further sightings were reported.

According to their Facebook page, Pfeifer and Plato once owned two cheetahs named Robin and Annie Rose. The pair wrote that the animals were imported from South Africa in April 2013 to be a part of conservation awareness programs.

The catswere at Alberta's Discovery Wildlife Park for a short timeafter they arrived in Canada. The facility takes in orphaned animals as well as wild animalsthat can't legally be kept as pets.

Owner Doug Bostold CBC News the cheetah seen walking in B.C. looked just like Annie Rose.

He saidthe animal'sowners were "people who always wanted to have cheetahs."

Bos said both catsleft the facility in October 2014 due to safety reasons.

It's illegal in B.C. to own a cheetahwithout a permit. No one in the provincehas obtained such apermit, although someone in the Kootenay area had applied for one, the Ministry of Forests said last year.

B.C. residents who don't have permissionto own anexotic animal can face a fine of up to$250,000 or two years in jail.

The B.C. Conservation OfficerService (COS) announced the charges against Pfeifer and Plato on Thursday.

The organization didn't say whetherthe cat was ever found, but a representativesaid the cheetah wasn't likely to survive long in the coldKootenay-areaweather without food.

Pfeiferand Platoare scheduled to make their first court appearance in February.