"I don't know. I can't get away from it," Biddle says. "It's kind of the only thing I know."The former curator at Sarasota Jungle Gardens has no "fancy degree." Born and raised in Florida, he got his first job at age 12 cleaning bear cages and feeding animals at a nature center. By 18, Biddle received his state permit to own large snakes. He later married the daughter of a wildlife rehabilitator who shares his passion.
Biddle has a gift, his boss says.
"He can read each animal and understand their limits," said Sam Haught, co-owner at Wild Florida, which opened in 2010 in Kenansville. "That's why he's so successful at what he does."Nala acts like an oversized house cat now but will grow up to be 200 pounds.
"It can be tough to make predictions about behaviors as an adult animal. Just as in humans, puberty can influence changes in behaviors," said Brian Ogle, an assistant professor at Leesburg's Beacon College who studies the relationship between humans and animals.
Her training should have consistent expectations and a reward system for positive interactions, according to Ogle. He noted many factors, like how Nala handles stress and reacts to noise or movements, could influence how she interacts with humans as an adult.
Biddle and Nala travel up the dirt road leading to the house that's surprisingly normal inside, except for the aquarium of small alligators and a snake in the dining room. Photographs hang on the wall of Biddle and his wife, Jessica, a nurse, and their 4- and 5-year-old sons.
Outside, their animal collection lives in fenced enclosures on the gated property surrounded by pasture.
Biddle tries his best to count the animals: A Syrian brown bear, four alligators, four crocodiles, six caiman, five tortoises, an Argus monitor lizard, two owls, two lemurs, a serval, two bobcats, one cougar, two pigs, two horses, five dogs, several cats, three ducks, a handful of chickens, geckos and snakes.
His wife raises some eyebrows in the grocery store when she buys unusually large amounts of chicken and bananas to feed the menagerie.
Among all the animals — and there are many — Nala is special, Biddle says.
Nala acts like a kitten still, licking Biddle with her rough tongue. The panther is clumsy enough to knock over a lamp by the front door.
Biddle plops down on the living-room floor and Nala snuggles up to his chest, purring.
Nearby, Biddle's Catahoula Leopard dog lies in his bed, submissively ignoring the oversized house cat — not an easy task when Nala bats his ear.
"She doesn't care for dogs at all," Biddle says, "which is funny because they're around the same size."
Biddle keeps Nala on her leash when his sons are awake and the cat, born in captivity in Texas, sleeps in her crate. Biddle says he takes extra precautions to make sure his children are safe from his other animals by locked cages, 8-foot tall fences and the locked snake house.
These nights with Nala are lingering and soon she will stay permanently in her new enclosure at Wild Florida. Biddle reminds himself it's not a forever goodbye since he will still see her at work.
"I know she's not my cat," Biddle says. "I try not to get too attached, but it's tough."
