Des, the 3-legged serval, thrives years after rescue
Exotic cat was discovered weakened and dehydrated north of Tucson in 2009
Little is known about Des’ life before that fateful day in 2009.
The exotic cat might have been bred with house cats to create hybrids. Or maybe he was just an exotic pet with an owner willing to risk keeping him illegally.
Des is a purebred serval, a mediumsized exotic cat native to Africa that weighs 30 to 40 pounds and has big ears and the longest legs of all cats relative to body size.
Arizona law prohibits people from owning servals and other big cats as pets.
The only thing for certain about Des’s former life is that, for some reason, someone surgically removed his back right leg and, soon after, either Des ran away or someone dumped him in the desert.
In October 2009, a man spotted Des struggling near a mailbox in Catalina Foothills, a well-off neighborhood north of Tucson.
He was dehydrated, tired and possibly on the brink of death when the Tucson Wildlife Center rescued him. They took him into emergency treatment and set out to find either his owner or a place for him to live long term.
Contentious trend of ‘exotic’ pets
Laws about owning big cats and other exotic animals vary by state, with some banning it outright and others allowing ownership without even needing a permit or license.
An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 big cats are kept as pets in basements, backyards and roadside zoos in the U.S., according to various organizations.
There is much debate as to whether people should be able to keep exotic wildlife as pets. Some say humans have a right to own animals, while many argue it’s against the animals’ best interest as well as dangerous to humans.
Arizona law requires a permit to own a long list of “exotic live wildlife” such as cobras and wolves, with permits generally only issued to zoos and sanctuaries.
Not only do people who keep those animals put themselves and others knowingly at risk, but they put a burden on the Arizona Game and Fish Department, said program manager Mike Demlong.
“Sometimes people have this stuff and they don’t want it anymore, and they put the responsibility on us to find a home for it or it gets loose, bites somebody and causes havoc in the public,” he said.
The department seized two young tigers from backyards in Phoenix and Gilbert in 2014. Their owner was found guilty on two counts of wildlife possession and sentenced to a year of probation and to pay a $5,000 fine to the Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Camp Verde, which took in the tigers.
Des finds a new life in Florida
Weeks passed and no one stepped forward to claim Des.
Instead, the Tucson Wildlife Center
secured Des a spot in one of the best big-cat homes around: Big Cat Rescue in Florida, one of the world’s largest accredited sanctuaries for exotic cats.
A few weeks after he was rescued, he flew to the sanctuary in Tampa to start a new life.
“He was a little wobbly initially, but now he scoots around the place like you would never know,” said Susan Bass, the sanctuary’s spokeswoman.
“Most people don’t even realize he has three legs. He gets along great. Most of the cats are pretty food-aggressive, so if there’s food around he can really hop,” she said, laughing.
When found, Des had a lot of fat on him and not enough muscle. He’s healthier now, eating about a pound of meat a day.
He was an adult when he was rescued, so he is at least 10 years old now, if not older. Servals live about 20 years in captivity.
Now, home is a 1,200square-foot habitat that has been modified for his needs: There’s less foliage for him to trip over, and no high perches for him to fall off of.
When tours goes by once a day, he doesn’t seem to care.
“Servals are smaller and kind of shyer, so he’s not always ‘out and about,’ if you will,” Bass said. “We’re a sanctuary: The cats you see are the cats who want to be seen.”
Des, not Desiree
Just last week, Des received some big news.
When he was rescued, handlers in Tucson sedated and examined him, mistakenly determining that he was a female.
Big Cat Rescue doesn’t sedate cats unless they need a medical procedure. Des hadn’t needed any help until this summer, when they needed to remove the matted fur from his behind because he can’t reach it.
When he went to the veterinarian for cleaning and bloodwork, Dr. Justin Boorstein confirmed that the cat formerly known as Desiree is, in fact, a neutered male. Des it is!
The animals most commonly placed at Big Cat Rescue are bobcats, followed by tigers and servals.
“Because servals are small and look extremely exotic like small leopards, they are popular pets. But they make terrible pets, of course,” Bass said.
Anyone can sponsor the cats at Big Cat Rescue and find other ways to help exotic cats through its website, bigcatrescue.org.
Born Free USA, the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and World Wildlife Fund also work to help exotic animals kept as pets or to end the practice altogether.
The Big Cat Public Safety Act is a federal bill that, if passed, would ban private individuals and unqualified exhibitors from possessing and breeding lions, tigers, leopards and other big cats. Learn more at bigcatact.com.