History
Spyke was a melanistic (black) leopard born to Santania and Zambo who were rescued in 2008 from a private zoo in upstate New York Zambo was neutered when he arrived at Turpentine Creek but Santania was already pregnant and a few months later she gave birth to a black leopard named Spyke on August 15, 2008. Spyke lived to the age of 15 years old and during his life at the refuge he grew to be a big favorite by many guests. His habitat was located in the discovery area.
Fur
His sleek black coat was a big wow factor to all visitors. If you look closely at pictures of Spyke, you can see his spots hidden in his fur. These circular spots are called rosettes because they are often shaped like roses. He used this pattern on his fur for camouflage. In the wild, it’s a defense mechanism and a stalking tool.
Due to how slick his fur looked, many guests would ask us if we groomed him. As we are a no contact facility due to our GFAS accreditation, our answer was always no. These cats have curved papillae on their tongue that basically act as a comb when they groom themselves.
Enrichment
Even though Spyke was born here he was still an apex predator and would always prove so by stalking and leaping at the Animal Care Staff and Interns. Even with these wild predators, they still play with the enrichment items and toys we provide for them. These enrichment items and toys help imitate their natural behaviors from out in the wild. Spyke’s favorite toy was a blue plastic donut that he would often wear around his neck while carrying it around his habitat and taking it up high on his bench.
Spyke often made a vocalization sound called “sawing.” This type of vocalization sounds like someone hand sawing wood back and forth.
We write this blog to honor Spyke’s memory as he was a true favorite among many who visited the refuge. Spyke will never be forgotten amongst his many admirers and the staff and interns who got the pleasure to work alongside him.
