A 14-year-old jaguar at a Fresno wild cat sanctuary died after being bitten by a rattlesnake, marking the first time in the facility’s nearly three decades of operation that one of its cats has died from a snakebite.
Samba, a melanistic female jaguar born at Project Survival Cat Haven in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Fresno County, appeared healthy when staff checked on the cats around 7 a.m. Monday, founder Dale Anderson told SFGATE. About three hours later, the facility’s head keeper noticed Samba had not emerged from her den and coaxed her out, revealing a left paw swollen to roughly twice its normal size.
“We knew right away that it was a snake bite,” Anderson said. “She got a big dose of venom.”
Samba was taken to a veterinary clinic, where blood testing showed extensive damage consistent with rattlesnake venom, Anderson said. He said previous cats bitten at Cat Haven had shown red blood cell changes in as much as roughly 60% of their red blood cells.
Samba’s test showed 100%.
Veterinarians administered antivenom, which Anderson said initially reduced the share of affected red blood cells to about 30%. A second dose brought it below 5%. But when staff tried to bring Samba out of anesthesia, she did not wake up.
Her heart had stopped.
The precise cause of her death remains under investigation. Samba was taken Tuesday for a necropsy through UC Davis, Anderson said. Results could take several weeks.
Samba was taken to the veterinary clinic immediately after sanctuary staff discovered her with a paw swollen from venom. (Dale Anderson/Project Survival’s Cat Haven)
“It could be that she just had so much venom that it overwhelmed some of her system,” Anderson said. “I don’t think there was anything we could do to change the equation there.”
Anderson said about six cats at Cat Haven have been bitten by rattlesnakes during the sanctuary’s 28 years of operation, but the cats previously recovered. Some bites have been dry, meaning the snake didn’t inject any venom, while others required antivenom.
The facility has procedures for suspected snakebites, including blood testing before antivenom is administered, because the treatment itself can cause adverse reactions. Anderson said Samba was transported and treated within the facility’s established emergency protocols.
“It just was one of those circumstances that just cascaded into catastrophic failure of the cat being able to survive,” he said.
Project Survival Cat Haven opened in 1998 on 93 acres of foothills about 45 miles east of Fresno and 15 miles west of Kings Canyon National Park. The nonprofit focuses on wild cat education and conservation and supports projects aimed at protecting species in their native habitats.
Samba and her sister, Rose, were born at Cat Haven and had lived together their entire lives. Anderson described Samba as gentle, calm and unusually clever. Keepers have been spending additional time with Rose since Samba’s death and providing extra enrichment, Anderson said.
“We’ve lost cats before,” Anderson said. “But you always lose a part of your heart, a little bit of your heart, when it happens.”
More News
– Southwest flight attendant’s sudden death leaves family searching for answers
– Ex-child actor claims she was repeatedly raped during Disney filming
– Man allegedly posed as 49ers player in $1.3M romance scam
– Husband of Central Coast teacher who died sues pool contractor
Sign up for SFGATE’s breaking news email
This article originally published at Jaguar dies from rattlesnake bite in first for California cat sanctuary.