Rare Black Jaguar Dies After Sustaining a Snake Bite at a California Nonprofit

Samba was sedated, taken to an emergency clinic and given antivenom, but her heart stopped hours later

NEED TO KNOW

• Samba, a black jaguar, was born at Project Survival’s Cat Haven and lived to be 14 or 15 years old
• Her death marks the second snake bite incident involving a big cat at the nonprofit this year
• Staff have relocated 14 snakes from the sanctuary this year to protect the cats without harming the reptiles

A black jaguar that was housed at a California big cat nonprofit has died due to a snake bite.

According to local news outlet KMPH, the jaguar, named Samba, was announced dead on Monday, Aug. 24, by Project Survival’s Cat Haven, a wild cat conservation facility located in Dunlap. The nonprofit organization said the big cat, born at Cat Haven and estimated to be 14 or 15 years old, was the second of its wild cats to be bitten by a snake this year.

Cat Haven founder Dale Anderson told the outlet that staff first noticed something was wrong when Samba began favoring one leg. Her paw had swollen to nearly twice the size of the other, and keepers found puncture wounds on her foot.

According to Anderson, snake bites are rare among Cat Haven’s residents. He said, “Usually, the big cats don’t have to deal with snake bites because usually they see the snake coming and they run away.”

Samba was sedated and rushed to an emergency veterinary clinic, where testing indicated she had been envenomated, per Anderson. The jaguar started an antivenom treatment; however, hours later, her heart stopped. Veterinary staff later performed chest compressions and administered medication in an attempt to save her, though she could not be revived.

Anderson shared that Samba was born at the rescue with her sister Rose, and became an ambassador for their “wild cousins.”

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“She was a very gentle jaguar and was loved by all,” Project Survival’s Cat Haven told PEOPLE in a statement. “Living in the foothills of California presents inherent risks, such as fire, wild animals and rattlesnakes. The Cat Haven has always taken precautions to mitigate problems with snakes.”

The statement continued, “This is the first time in 28 years, and hopefully the last, that we have lost a cat due to a snake bite. Samba received extraordinary veterinary treatment but succumbed to the venom … We will miss her greatly.”

Samba’s death is part of an unusually active year for snake encounters at the facility. “This is our second cat bite this year,” Anderson noted. “First time we’ve had two in one year.”

Over the past year, according to Anderson, Cat Haven’s staff have caught and moved roughly 14 snakes away from the nonprofit. Rather than kill the reptiles, the conservation-minded team relocates them elsewhere on the property, away from the animals in their care.

“We’re a conservation facility. I don’t want to just kill snakes because they live there,” Anderson highlighted. “We just need to move them to someplace else on the property away from the cats.”