Baby Elvis joins the fun at indoor swap meet

Leopard cub accompanies owner to work

The Mirage has white tigers on display. But Fantastic Indoor Swap Meet, 1717 S. Decatur Blvd., has a baby leopard cub named Elvis.

Monica Riddell, who goes by the name Nikki, is his owner. Like many newborns, Elvis needs round-the-clock feeding, has to be burped after each meal and can't maintain his body temperature very well. So Riddell takes him to her animal foundation booth at the swap meet.

Born Jan. 29, he weighed one pound, one ounce. He was also not breathing.

Riddell saw the mother, Emma, had no interest in her baby. So much so, the mother leopard nearly crushed him.

"When I rolled Emma off him, there was no sign of life at all," Riddell said. "So I gave him mouth to mouth. After three or four minutes I gave up. Then I thought, 'No, I can't.' I (tried again) and finally I heard this big cry."

A friend videotaped the whole thing. The baby leopard's first cries sound like a kitten. But then, he looks like one. Just watch out for the claws.

The cub's precarious health means Riddell gives him constant attention. That includes taking him to Fantastic Indoor Swap Meet where she mans her animal foundation's exhibit. Shoppers can watch as she feeds Elvis with a baby bottle, burps him and cuddles him in a warm blanket.

Across the aisle Riddell's main animal display is rambunctious and high on the fun scale. In an enclosed booth, two chimps, Buddy and C.J., romp on a swing set and scurry over to the Plexiglas window where they mimic squealing children.

Riddell opened her booth at the swap meet in June 2001.

There is no admission charge, only a donation box. At first, contributions were high. Now some days only bring $20, hardly enough to feed even one of her big cats.

Still, the swap meet facility has never had displays quite like these.

"On Saturdays and Sundays, you can't walk down the aisle, there are so many people who stop to watch," Krebs said.

Riddell grew up privileged, the only child of a prominent physician in England. Throughout her childhood, animals were part of her life. She brought injured animals to her father to save. Took in pets of all kinds.

"Sometimes my father would say, 'That one's got a collar, an expensive one at that, so I think this fellow already has a home,' " she said with a laugh.

She was also known to open the cages of the research mice, allowing them to escape.

Though she went into nursing to please her father, Riddell soon realized her true calling was with animals. In her early 20s she worked with the Howletts Zoo in Kent, established by John Aspinall. She also trained with the Exotic Animal Training School in Florida.

Her rescue efforts began in earnest when she learned of a Rhesus monkey being sold for medical research. She bought the animal and took it to England. Soon a male Bengal tiger named Sinbad and Elvis' mother joined the compound and Riddell spent thousands of dollars on their veterinary care, food and special cages.

Throughout the 1990s she and her animals appeared in many venues, from TV specials to corporate ad campaigns. She was known as the "Cat Woman."

Along the way she married Barry, a businessman who grew their holdings to include hotels and nightclubs. She said he understood her need to rescue animals and never flinched at the expense of acquiring new ones.

But after 20 years together, Barry had a heart attack and died. That was about two years ago. Riddell went into a long period of mourning. It lasted so long she neglected their business dealings and unscrupulous people took advantage.

Now, she has only her 1-plus acre compound in Las Vegas and relies on income from calendars, TV appearances and private parties to keep the foundation running.

"But I don't care that I don't (have a lot of money anymore)," she said as she cuddled Elvis. "It's the animals that count. They're what's important."

Animal Antics can be reached through Fantastic Indoor Swap Meet at 877-0087.


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