Daze O Grace
Our lineage: exquisite beauty ...you call us living grace.
Our hearts are young; filled with thoughts of friends
and lover of the chase.
Our speed: burning sensation as we delight in open space.
Our design is of strong energy and on occasion we make mistakes...
but there is a beckoning in us, out of the heart of Africa,
where amber eyes were hidden in the tall grasses of the
Savannahs
as our ancestors lived and hunted ...being born free.
We're here now with you, creatures of our Serval fathers,
to share your lives and enrich your sense of place.
Study us well, our beloved comrades,
for these are truly ...your days of living grace.
- Jan Hodges
The African Serval Ancestry
JuJu, African Serval, with daughter, Elsa, F1 Savannah.
(JuJu is a mature adult in this photo and Elsa is 4 months.)
This is a great example of the first generation from the wild Serval, bred to a domestic.
Elsa's posture, movements, markings and behaviors mirror her wild father splendidly.
The Serval inhabits the plains and forests of several African countries and the large spotted coat is perfect camouflage for the grassland region. However, there are other variants in coat found in the Serval as well. The Servaline pattern is much less common and seems to be the pattern of Servals in heavily forested areas with dense coverage in habitat - thus a different camouflage coat is needed. Follow these links to see the Servaline pattern (also below):
http://www.messybeast.com/genetics/mutant-bigcats2.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28567825@N03/3425080869/
In addition to the traditional golden coat with large spots and the Servaline pattern of small spots, there are melanistic and albino Servals.
One of the behaviors of the Serval that transfers marvelously to the Savannahs is the way they jump. The wild Serval, when hunting, makes their jump steep with front feet tucked up tight and then drops straight down on their prey. The Savannahs mirror this remnant of their wild heritage - fascinating to watch!
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Our Boy - Mace
Below: Mace at 11 months
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F7C King:
LotzOfSpotz Burning Sensation "Mace"
Our first Savannah, Mace, captured our
hearts without reserve and we were hooked! He has been the most
interactive, sweet, affectionate and kind soul we’ve ever shared our
home with. As a small kitten he displayed amazing speed and
concentration. He is such a unique individual, always letting the other
cats go first, takes his turn rather than bullying, and greeting all our
visitors here with style and an open, welcome heart.
THE STORY: Mace loved Elsa from the moment he laid eyes on her. He had
made friends with the two resident Bengals and Elsa was in quarantine
for several weeks before she was introduced to the other animals. Mace
waited patiently at the bedroom door day after day smelling her scent.
Finally the big day arrived and Mace was placed in a crate in the middle
of the bedroom where Elsa had spent her first weeks. The moment he saw
her he trilled this musical call to her....she was fascinated... he
trilled again. She came and rolled over by the crate and they began a
love affair that has only become more intense as they mature. He and
Elsa LOVE each other. He saunters through the house trilling his love
call to her...even as young adults their bond is deeply moving.
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Our Girl - Elsa
Below: Elsa at 6 months
F1 Queen: Wagati's Born A Free Spirit "Elsa"
Elsa has been an unusually sweet and loving
girl from the day she arrived at Daze O Grace.
She is cautious, and curious, brought to riveted attention by anything
that moves or is out of place. She is not vocal or aggressive in any
way, she is her own very special self...being born a free spirit, she is
well named. She is affectionate and chirps at discontent or desire she
can’t attain. If Jan is behind a closed door or where she can’t be with
her, Elsa chirps and cries loudly to correct the situation. Elsa is an
exquisite creature, lovely and graceful beyond belief. She is a living
dream and we are honored to share our lives with her.
THE STORY: When Elsa arrived we did the dreaded deed of trimming toe
nails fairly routinely (less often) as we could. Finally when she was
about 5 months old it was way past time to trim nails and Jim and I both
approached this task with fear and trembling. Jim had his welding gloves
on, I was equipped with clippers, muzzle and band-aids. Needless to
say....Elsa turned into a raving maniac and though we were not bleeding,
we were shaking and spent when our efforts were abandoned. Five minutes
later she had forgotten all about it and never carried a grudge at all.
A couple weeks later I was in the office and she came and sat in my lap
to take a nap and I whispered to Jim to bring the clippers and I just
snipped off the nails zip, zip, zip while she purred. Elsa...our amazing
girl!
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Our Pet - Makya
Below: Makya at 6 months
F2 neutered male:
JewelsoftheNile Lover of the Chase - "Makya"
Makya came to
us about as frightened as a kitten can be. We find him an extremely
sensitive boy, a student of careful observation, immensely patient and
gives a new meaning to the word, conservative. He is
breathtakingly beautiful and truly a stunning Savannah. Becoming friends
with this boy has been a labored challenge, but we are making slow
progress and now occasionally he comes to us for affection and
reassurance, blasts through the pet doors to the outdoor enclosure and
climbs up and down trees and climbing structures. He is very interesting
to observe, it’s
hard to take our eyes off of him - to watch him move is rich indeed. One
of his trademarks is his great affection for the other animals here. He
loves all things cats...no things dogs! He head butts his Savannah
friends, roots and rubs, and his grand purring machine roars to life! We
love this boy!
THE STORY: As Makya grew, he was always left out when the other cats
disappeared through this mysterious flap in the wall...he would check it
out when no one was looking and for the life of him....he could not
figure out why they were disappearing. One day after months of being
left alone in the house...he FINALLY decided that it would be better to
die trying to find his friends than live without them. He went through
the flap with great care, then through a long tunnel, through another
mysterious flap in the wall, finally he blasted out into the sunshine!
He’s been there ever since!
**NOTE: Photos used by permission.
Thank you to Juliana Pearson, Mel McCracken, Joann Gunzner, Nicole Greig, & Allison Navarro for sharing these photos. Home page photo of Makya by Juliana Pearson & Mel McCracken
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