Eira’s long legs and speckled coat make her look like an animal from the African savanna — and in a way, she is.
She’s a Savannah cat; a hybrid breed humans produce by crossing domestic cats with African servals.
Eira (pronounced air-uh) is almost five years old and still in her prime. She’s a new arrival at Safe Haven Wildlife Sanctuary, a 320-acre refuge in Imlay, between Lovelock and Winnemucca.
Eira’s journey there began when her former caretaker in Las Vegas could no longer manage her behavior.
Like most Savannahs, Eira exhibited territorial instincts — aggression, spraying, and a constant urge to escape. These aren’t quirks. They’re signs of a wild heritage that doesn’t mesh with domestic life.
To their credit, her former caretaker did the right thing. Instead of surrendering her to a shelter unequipped for hybrids, they contacted Safe Haven. Eira now lives in a secure, outdoor enclosure cared for by people like lead animal keeper Madelyn Beehler.
“Personality-wise, the first word that comes to mind is spicy. Eira wants what she wants when she wants it,” she said.
Breeders categorize Savannahs by their generation. An F1 cat has one serval parent. An F2 has a serval grandparent. When you reach F5, the cat is more domesticated, but still wild.
Safe Haven isn’t sure of Eira’s exact generation. That information was unavailable, but Beehler observes she is just as wild as any full-blooded African Serval.
“Savannahs are highly intelligent and can be destructive and escape-prone. Many will tear up furniture, dig, climb walls, and even mess with door handles to try and get out of enclosures or rooms in a house,” she says.
There are many reasons why Savannahs don’t make good pets.
If they escape, they pose a threat to native wildlife. Savannahs are skilled and efficient hunters, with sharp reflexes and heightened predatory instincts.
Bigger, faster, and more skilled at hunting than typical housecats, they’re ecological time bombs in the wrong environment.
That’s why countries like Australia have banned them altogether. A 2019 study found that escaped Savannahs could threaten up to 90 percent of their native species.
In the wild, servals eat a high-protein, raw diet of small mammals, birds and reptiles. In captivity, Savannahs need a high‑protein raw diet to stay healthy. Commercial cat food doesn’t cut it.
They’re also potentially dangerous to humans. While there’s no confirmed data on the Savannah’s bite force, an African serval’s bite is two to three times stronger than a housecat’s.
And then there’s the pee.
Servals are notorious scent markers, sometimes urinating 20 to 40 times an hour. Savannah cats often inherit that trait, especially when stressed or confined. Do the math, and you’re looking at hundreds of puddles a day.
“Out of all the feline urine I’ve smelled, and that’s a lot, serval urine is by far the worst,” says Beehler.
Eira is still adjusting to her new home, but she’s come a long way. At first, she constantly ran and hid in her den.
Now, she explores her habitat and shows interest in her next-door neighbor: Medusa, a female caracal. Unlike Medusa’s last neighbor (a bobcat), these two seem to get along.
Safe Haven staff have started “lockout training,” which means feeding Eira in a small attached area called a lockout.
The goal is to reduce her stress and make it easier to get her to safety, especially during emergencies like wildfire evacuations.
When she’s in the lockout, staff can close the door and safely enter her enclosure to clean or leave enrichment activities like boxes, toys and new scents.
Eira rarely interacts with her toys while people are around. But if they leave her a box in the morning, she’ll shred it into dozens of tiny pieces by afternoon, just one sign of her sharp intelligence and restless energy.
Savannahs thrive in outdoor settings where they can climb, explore, and express their natural behaviors — another reason these hybrids do best in sanctuaries.
Safe Haven Wildlife Sanctuary is a nonprofit refuge accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. It provides lifelong care for animals that can’t live in the wild, including big cats, bears and hybrids like Eira.
Eira is now in a setting that honors her instincts. No one expects her to be a pet or a conversation piece. At Safe Haven, she can be wild at heart.
Follow Safe Haven Wildlife Sanctuary on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with Eira’s adventures and see behind‑the‑scenes photos of their other residents. You can also visit their website to donate, volunteer or plan a guided tour.
Safe Haven Wildlife Sanctuary is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week.
For more information, call 775-538-7095