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This 100-Year-Old Woman Had A Lifelong Ambition To Meet A Serval Cat And Her Dream Came True
31Kviews Tamara Nasser
Community member A touching and emotional moment was made possible for 100-year-old cat lover Betty Morris, as she was invited to a specially arranged, one-off close encounter with serval cat Nwela at Drusillas Park – an experience that had been a lifelong ambition. On 1st September 2021, Betty was invited to visit the Zoo before their public opening time and was accompanied by Keepers into the serval enclosure to enjoy a unique nose-to-nose experience. Head Keeper Gemma led Nwela through a practiced routine using a training stick, food and a clicker, to bring her near to Betty's wheelchair. After the encounter, Betty held back tears as Deputy Managing Director, Cassie Poland, presented her with a surprise honorary serval adoption and a large, personalized plaque that was hung outside the enclosure to mark the beloved relationship Betty has with the servals. More info: drusillas.co.uk Instagram youtube.com A touching and emotional moment was made possible for 100-year-old cat lover Betty Morris
She was invited to a specially arranged one-off close encounter with serval cat Nwela at Drusillas Park &ndash an experience that had been a lifelong ambition
Animal enthusiast Betty has supported the Zoo's serval cats for many years by way of adoption and has become a fond member of the Drusillas family with her irresistible charm and undeniable passion for animals – in particular the serval cats, whom she first became aware of at Drusillas. "The whole team at Drusillas are incredibly fond of Betty, it's really hard not to be!" commented Head Keeper Gemma Romanis. "We love updating her on her favorite big cats when she visits, and she's put so much time in over the years to get to know each serval we've had." "When Nwela joined us and I was able to continue her training, it didn't take long for the idea of an encounter for Betty to come up – and everyone was on board without hesitation. How many opportunities do you get to fulfill someone's life ambition?" A serval cat named Nwela was being prepared for her moment with Betty gradually being introduced to a wheelchair in the enclosure
Betty spoke about the experience: "This has always been on my bucket list! It was wonderful… Nwela came right up to the side of the wheelchair, and it was such a privilege. I've had a special soft spot for servals ever since Drusillas got them… this means an awful lot to me." Beautiful serval Nwela – who joined Drusillas from Banham Zoo in April 2021 – was hand-reared as a youngster and as a result, has had lots of experience around humans. Once Nwela started to settle in and it became apparent how much she enjoyed her training, Keepers at Drusillas conceived the idea of finally making Betty's dream of meeting servals come to fruition. Not typically an animal that can be involved in close encounters, the idea was carefully considered, planned, and tested by the Drusillas team. Keeper Gemma spent weeks preparing and training Nwela for her moment with Betty; gradually introducing her to a wheelchair in the enclosure, choreographing a routine that included a few safe moments close to Betty, with several rehearsals before the big day. Gemma continued: "Knowing how important this would be for Betty, I wanted to make sure the experience was as successful as possible, and it also gave Nwela and I an opportunity to bond, as she was missing the relationship she had with her previous keepers. I am immensely proud of how well she did and it's an honor to be able to work with such an amazing animal." Knowing how important this would be for Betty I wanted to make sure the experience was as successful as possible keeper Gemma spoke
After the encounter Betty held back tears as Deputy Managing Director presented her with a surprise honorary serval adoption and a personalized plaque
The plaque was hung outside the enclosure
Betty s granddaughter Kirsty who accompanied Betty during the serval encounter gifted her an annual membership and Betty visits as often as she can
Betty celebrated her 100th birthday at Drusillas in May and was treated to close encounters with their resident meerkats, lemurs and armadillo – and now she can cross serval encounters off her bucket list! Her granddaughter Kirsty, who accompanied Betty during the serval encounter, gifted her an annual membership and Betty visits as often as she can. Here s a video showing 100-year-old Betty meeting the serval cat
Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing! Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! 31Kviews Share on Facebook Tamara Nasser Follow Unfollow Tamara Nasser Author, Community member This lazy panda forgot to write something about itself. Read more » Gabrielė Malukaitė Gabrielė Malukaitė Moderator, BoredPanda staff Gabrielė, or, as other people like to call her, Gab, Gabi, Gabert or Gabe, is a community manager at Bored Panda. Despite all the names above you can also call her a Viking since she has acquired a BA in Scandinavian Studies (feel free to send her a message in Norwegian). After the bachelor, this Viking wanted to conquer more lands—that is why she flew to Belgium and finished a MA in Cultural Studies. Gabrielė is a true culture enthusiast. Besides work, she is learning how to play a guitar and enjoys going to movies, art exhibitions and concerts. Read more » Show All Contributors Get the latest inspiring stories via our awesome iOS app! 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D, E, F.... like, all of them? How wrong would it be if I'm not technically lying about any of it? 20 20points reply Ray Martin Ray Martin Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago Yes, it would be wrong, but I'd understand ;-) 17 17points reply Load More Replies... FashionablePigeon (Say hi!) FashionablePigeon (Say hi!) Community Member • points posts comments upvotes 8 months ago We all have limited time on this earth technically 5 5points reply Susan Green Susan Green Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago I like the way you think Jo. 2 2points reply Walking On Sunshine Walking On Sunshine Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago Go Betty!!!! 0 0points reply thememyselfandi thememyselfandi Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago Why would Betty "hold back tears"? This is so beautiful, I'm crying right now! :-) 10 10points reply Annie Annie Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago Yep, I'm crying too! 3 3points reply Load More Replies... Kay blue Kay blue Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago Depending where she grew up she was possibly taught to not cry in public. My grandmother who would have been 110 now was always told off for showing any negative emotion outside of the home. 1 1point reply veronica bingham veronica bingham Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago I know it's probably not advised but l'd like to give the animal a choice to interact. Not talking about big cats as most people aren't around often enough to familiarise the animal to their scent & educate the best behaviour around them. For me interacting doesn't mean just being in the enclosure. 5 5points reply Rissie Rissie Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago They clearly tried to provide for that, but it's a cat. They do them. Servals are hardly aggressive to humans, it's just that a really old lady doesn't have all that much to offer a big cat in interesting interaction. But to be so close, would have to be pretty cool. 7 7points reply Load More Replies... Load More Comments POST Jo Choto Jo Choto Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago Would it be really, really wrong of me to go around various animal sanctuaries pretending that I have limited time left on this earth (I mean, technically, don't we all?) and then tell them that before I die, I want to hold animal A, B, C.... D, E, F.... like, all of them? How wrong would it be if I'm not technically lying about any of it? 20 20points reply Ray Martin Ray Martin Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago Yes, it would be wrong, but I'd understand ;-) 17 17points reply Load More Replies... FashionablePigeon (Say hi!) FashionablePigeon (Say hi!) Community Member • points posts comments upvotes 8 months ago We all have limited time on this earth technically 5 5points reply Susan Green Susan Green Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago I like the way you think Jo. 2 2points reply Walking On Sunshine Walking On Sunshine Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago Go Betty!!!! 0 0points reply thememyselfandi thememyselfandi Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago Why would Betty "hold back tears"? This is so beautiful, I'm crying right now! :-) 10 10points reply Annie Annie Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago Yep, I'm crying too! 3 3points reply Load More Replies... Kay blue Kay blue Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago Depending where she grew up she was possibly taught to not cry in public. My grandmother who would have been 110 now was always told off for showing any negative emotion outside of the home. 1 1point reply veronica bingham veronica bingham Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago I know it's probably not advised but l'd like to give the animal a choice to interact. Not talking about big cats as most people aren't around often enough to familiarise the animal to their scent & educate the best behaviour around them. For me interacting doesn't mean just being in the enclosure. 5 5points reply Rissie Rissie Community Member • points posts comments upvotes FollowUnfollow 8 months ago They clearly tried to provide for that, but it's a cat. They do them. Servals are hardly aggressive to humans, it's just that a really old lady doesn't have all that much to offer a big cat in interesting interaction. But to be so close, would have to be pretty cool. 7 7points reply Load More Replies... Load More Comments Popular on Bored Panda I Used AI To See What These 23 Popular Cartoon Characters Would Look Like In Real Life 30 Y.O. 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