A black jaguar at a Central California wildlife sanctuary died after being bitten twice by a rattlesnake despite receiving emergency treatment and multiple doses of antivenin.

Samba, a jaguar at Project Survival’s Cat Haven in Dunlap, died Monday after the encounter, according to the sanctuary.

The sanctuary first alerted followers Monday afternoon that Samba had suffered a rattlesnake bite and was being treated at an emergency

veterinarian.

Samba had been bitten twice, once on the nose and once on the leg, before being rushed to a trauma center, Cat Haven founder and executive director Dale Anderson told The Fresno Bee.

Samba, a black jaguar at Project Survival’s Cat Haven in Dunlap, is treated after being bitten twice by a rattlesnake. August 2026. (Project Survival’s Cat Haven)
In a subsequent Facebook update, the sanctuary said Samba’s bloodwork continued to show high levels of echinocytes, prompting veterinarians to administer a second dose of antivenin. The veterinary team was also working to maintain her blood pressure, temperature and heart rate.

Her initial blood work had appeared promising, but Samba did not recover after being placed under anesthesia.

Hours later, the sanctuary announced that Samba had died.

“We lost our dear, sweet Samba,” Cat Haven officials wrote on Facebook. “Our Vet team did everything they could to save her but she didn’t make it.”

Samba was born at Cat Haven and lived there alongside her sister, Rose. Anderson described her as a particularly sweet animal with an exceptionally nice personality.

Her death marks the first time the sanctuary has lost one of its cats to a snakebite in roughly two decades, Anderson told The Bee. The facility has dealt with an estimated six or seven snakebites during that period, but the other cats recovered after receiving antivenin.

Samba, a black jaguar who lived at Project Survival’s Cat Haven in Dunlap, California. (Project Survival’s Cat Haven)

Samba’s body was sent to UC Davis for a necropsy that could provide more information about why the bites proved fatal.

Rattlesnakes are a known hazard around Cat Haven, a 93-acre wildlife sanctuary about 45 miles east of Fresno near Kings Canyon National Park. The facility, which opened in 1998, is home to a variety of feline species, including lions, leopards and lynxes.

The sanctuary relocates rattlesnakes found on its property rather than killing them, with Anderson saying 12 had been moved off the property so far this year.

“We’re trying to save cats around the world,” Anderson told The Bee. “We’re here to save animals, not eliminate them.”