I’ve had two very different experiences with, of all things, servals. I’d always had a vague image of them, a cat-like African animal; that was about it.

Then about 10 years ago I visited the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. I’d long since become disenchanted with zoos–I should say zoos that have small, depressing facilities without the resources to provide open spaces for their residents. But I didn’t really know what the Sanctuary was all about. I was thrilled to see large-acreage habitats where lions, tigers, bears—in other words, large carnivores—had prairies to roam.

The education area, then housed in a smallish yurt-type roundhouse, was a much less joyous experience. There I learned about people who think owning a wild animal is a good idea. And how, because these amazing creatures ARE wild, people often end up panicking and constraining these animals in cruel ways. How could I not have heard of this before? I admit that I couldn’t even watch all of the video stories. I still can only read the stories in small doses.

So what does this have to do with servals?

Well, of course, having a serious “I want to save the world” complex, I wanted to help the Sanctuary. I did this by becoming a member and sponsoring an animal there. Hello Shaka the serval!

From the Sanctuary’s site: Shaka was confiscated by NY State Wildlife Officials and “was being kept in a small cage located in a junk-ridden back yard.” The people also had a Mountain Lion and a Black Bear as pets. (All three animals were rescued and now live in open habitats with others of their own species.)

Since that first visit, I’ve been to the Sanctuary dozens of times. I’m both gratified and sad to see how much it’s grown; how much it’s needed to grow to accommodate all the animals being rescued. Sometimes an animal or two, but also large groups of animals from all over the world, rescued from “zoos” or roadside “exhibits.” I’ve added a bear sponsorship of Grumpy the bear for my great-nephew. I want him to know there are good people in the world, like the Sanctuary’s founder, Pat Craig, who saw a tragic need and has dedicated his life to addressing it.

I’ve loved seeing Shaka at the Sanctuary, but it was stunning and thrilling to see three servals during my trip to Africa. It was a “full circle” moment, moments that are few and far between in this life.

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Did you know?

-The name is French, but from the Portuguese lobo cerval that in turn is from Medieval Latin lupus cervalis, literally, deerlike wolf.

-The sole member of the genus Leptailurus.

-Servals can purr.