Taz, our beloved Siberian lynx, passed away in the loving arms of his caretakers on May12, 2005 while awaiting the arrival of emergency care. This has been a devastating loss to the staff at Destiny, especially since Taz was the first of our big guys to pass. The sole consolation of the staff is that Taz went extremely quickly, and that he did not go alone. Later tests showed that Taz had a very small heart for his size, which could have been a result of inbreeding. Since many Siberian lynxes are bred purely for their belly fur to make coats...that's right, only their belly fur is used...inbreeding is not a concern at fur farms since the life expectancy of the lynx is very short. In essence, Taz lived a lot longer than he should have at the fur farm, and even longer than he should have with the heart complications that he had as well.

Taz was born on 5/3/98, and arrived at Destiny when he was two months old. He was immediately put in the company of a little lion cub named Zenobia. While Taz may have been a Siberian lynx, living with a little lion cub turned him into a "Siberian Lion". Once Taz and Zenobia were big enough, they began to venture outside and interact with the other cats. Already getting close to being full grown, were Baja the Siberian tiger, and Cosmo & Tawny, the brother and sister Bengals. Having two little trouble makers underfoot seemed to be a bit below the tigers. However, Baja seemed to take over as the boss and showed them around the sanctuary. There are numerous photos of a huge Siberian tiger, a young, yet large maneless lion, and a little, sleek Siberian lynx getting into all kinds of trouble around the compound. And Taz, being the smallest usually bore the brunt of the big cat wrestling matches. However, Taz never missed them. As trainers would try to separate the big guys when things got too rough, here would come Taz right into the fray. Taz always gave as good as he got!

As the cats became full grown in size, and mentally began to mature, it was time to separate them. After all, even full grown, Taz gave up at least 400lbs to Zenobia, and probably 700lbs to Baja. However, the bonds created when they were young were always strong. Taz had several different habitats that were connected to the big habitats that the large cats live in. Whenever Taz was neighboring with Zen, or Baja, those strong bonds were still evident. The boys would still lay side by side at the fence, and Taz would even put his skinny arm through and rest his paw on his buddies.

It's easy for people to think of lions or tigers when looking for inspiration when they need to be bold or brave. Not too many people think of the smaller cats, or mid sized predators for that matter, when looking for inspiration. The lion and the tiger always seem to capture our imagination. And it's easy. They're built with powerful bodies, and the bully demeanor that apex predators possess. Obviously, it's easy for them to be the way that they are. When we as humans look for inspiration, we tend to see the attributes that we will never have...such as those possessed by lions and tigers. However, we do tend to uplift the common man, who finds a way to go beyond what he was meant to do. In the same way, we at Destiny will always look at Taz in the same light. Taz was incredibly smaller than the big guys that he lived with, yet he stood up to them without hesitation. Lynxes, along with many of the smaller cats, are usually not the friendliest once they are full grown. Taz on the otherhand was by far our most tolerant cat at the sanctuary. He loved nothing more than to have someone come in and sit down with him so that he could rest his head on them and get a nice long belly rub. Kelley, was by far his best human friend, and they spent countless hours together, sitting in the shade and having quiet time. It was only fitting, that when Taz passed, he was laying quietly with the staff in much the same way.

Safe journey on your new path Taz. We'll catch up with you soon...