Snakes, ostriches, and a gator: Inside an exotic pet owner’s Missouri ranch
The first week of each month, during the Spring and Summer at Kansas City’s First Fridays on 18th and Vine, Sha’Quan Clark’s tent full of exotic animals draws a whole lot of attention.
Inside the big canvas structure, visitors find giant hares — that’s a rabbit — lizards, bantam chickens, chinchillas and hedgehogs, many of which are being seen for the first time by curious children. Of course, some kids are hesitant to approach the unfamiliar creatures, but Clark knows just how to gently reassure them that his animals are safe and friendly.
Ace, a seven-year-old, had spent time around cats, dogs and even horses, but the mouse-sized chinchilla under Clark’s tent made the boy uneasy.
Clark spent a few moments explaining what the animal was, that it was friendly and its fur was very soft. Over the next several minutes the child began to warm to the gray rodent and before long, the chinchilla was riding atop Ace’s cowboy hat.
It was exactly the kind of moment that makes being an exotic pet owner fulfilling for Clark. Being able to put children in front of animals they might only see at a distance in a zoo. With his traveling menagerie of exotic creatures, Clark is able to not only bring his mobile zoo to the community, but also give them hands-on encounters with animals from around the world.
“Parents will come up and ask if I am with the zoo,” said Clark, who goes by the name Mistah Igzatik (pronounced exotic). “They are usually pretty surprised to learn that you can own so many exotic types of animals here in Kansas City without being a zoo.”
Clark, 32, has been collecting exotic animals for over a decade and as part or his four-year-old nonprofit, Unruly Igzatiks, brought only a small portion of his collection to the monthly event on May 2.
“I allow kids to get up close with animals and have meaningful interactions and experiences to get them curious about animals,” he said.
Weather permitting, every month Clark brings his living menagerie to Kansas City so children in the metro area can touch and learn about these exotic creatures and because it’s something he wished he’d had growing up.
Raised in the Virgin Islands, as a kid Clark often dreamed of seeing animals like the ones he has now become so acquainted with.
“On the Island we really don’t have a lot of exotic animals,” said Clark. “I grew up watching Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin and wanted to be like them, but even 30 years later there are still only a few Black people who are doing what they did. So that helps push me to come out more.”
Although Clark has always loved animals, he didn’t own his first one until he was 20 years old and serving in the U.S. Air Force. His first pet was a ball python, chosen for its low-maintenance care, it only needed to be fed once a month. From that point on, he was hooked.
His time in the Air Force took him to California, where he spent several years expanding his collection of reptiles. Eventually, he moved to Missouri and was stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, about nine miles east of Warrensburg. There, he discovered the state’s relaxed laws around owning exotic animals, a turning point that allowed his dream to truly take shape.
After purchasing land in Warrensburg, Clark began building a private ranch designed as a personal zoo for his own enjoyment. Today, he cares for a wide variety of animals, including jackals, a kangaroo, a tortoise, pigs, a coatimundi (a South American raccoon), an ostrich, goats, an alligator, snakes, scorpions, and several exotic wild cats.
While Clark enjoys taking his animals to schools and community events, city regulations restrict him from bringing some species into urban areas.
Backyard Zoo
“Missouri is really lax on their animal laws,” said Clark. “But they are stricter in the city, like if you have an alligator you couldn’t have it in the city but you can have it in the outskirts.”
He said that “primates are legal in this state but it is illegal in Kansas. If you have any type of reptile longer than eight feet or a big cat you have to report it to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture.)”
According to Missouri law (section 1 of Missouri’s Title XXXVIII Chapter 578 states), “The offense of keeping a dangerous wild animal is a class C misdemeanor.” A person is in violation of the law if they keep any one of a long list of wild animals, including lions, tigers and other big cats, hyena, wolf, bear, coyote, monkey, ape or any deadly, dangerous, or poisonous reptile, especially ones more than eight feet long, in any place other than a maintained zoo, circus, scientific, or educational institution, research lab, animal hospital or refuge. The exception is if a person has properly registered such animals with the local law enforcement agency in the county in which the animal is kept.
While Clark can’t bring his alligator into Kansas City because of the regulations, there are other animals like his jackals and coatimundi that he doesn’t carry into the city either, because they are too timid around people. He said their anxiety can lead to unpredictable behavior, making them unsuitable for public events.
Owning exotic pets is not all that unusual in Missouri, Clark said, adding that a surprisingly diverse community of exotic animal owners live in the state. While most don’t have collections as extensive as his, he’s met people across the state who specialize in everything from rare lizards to farmers raising alpacas.
These pet owners stay connected through social media groups, where they share advice, discuss animal care and even trade animals.
“There aren’t a lot of places you can get certain animals so we trade,” Clark said. “I have Bengal cats and Savannah cats that would have babies which I was selling. Then I started trading them to bring other animals in. I will drive into the St. Louis area or further into the state and find breeders.”
Over the years as an exotic animal owner, Clark has learned that no two animal breeds are the same, each requires a unique routine, diet, and environment.
Clark’s zoo is entirely self-funded, aside from occasional donations of meat and produce from local grocery stores.
His ranch stands out in the neighborhood, with large enclosures and animals, like an ostrich, roaming the property. Most of his neighbors are unbothered by the the animals, but he said that one has expressed concern about how the zoo-like atmosphere might affect their ability to sell their home.
Risks and Responsibilities
Clark says he has spent a lot of time learning how to responsibly care for his animals.
Steve Klein, who has been executive director of the Cedar Cove Feline Conservatory & Education Center in Louisburg, Kansas for over a decade, has encountered numerous cases where owners were unprepared or ill-equipped to handle exotic animals.
“We’ll get calls from the authorities,” said Klein. Sometimes, he said, it’s a county sheriff’s department, or wildlife control, or the USDA — the official regulating body for exotic animal care — reporting that somebody was keeping an animal they now need to find another home for.
Cedar Cove, has provided a safe haven for displaced exotic animals for 25 years. Of the 28 animals currently housed there, many were previously owned by private individuals.
Located 20 miles south of Kansas City, Cedar Cove sits nestled in the middle of a quiet rural community. Besides the giant sign with the center’s name and big cat imagery displayed along Amity Street, which leads to the Cedar Cove entrance, you would never know it was there.
As you pull into the gravel path and walk through the welcome center you are met by a smell that is a mixture of stinky skunk and the musky scent of a sweaty big furry creature. Next, you hear the huffing and growling of large wild cats prancing around in cages.
The facility, including its various sized animal enclosures, occupies three of Cedar Coves 126 acres, which it plans to eventually fill with more animals and nature programs.
Kansas adopted stricter laws on exotic animal ownership following the 2005 death of 17-year-old Hailey Hilderbrand, who was mauled by a 700-pound Siberian tiger while posing for a photo at the Lost Creek Sanctuary in Labette County, Kansas. The 7-year-old tiger was shot and killed by handlers.
These regulations now prohibit private ownership of exotic animals in Kansas without proper oversight from the USDA and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and they ban all public interactions with such animals.
Klein believes that while many people, himself included, have a genuine passion for exotic animals, that passion can sometimes lead to unrealistic expectations about what makes a suitable pet.
“There is this spark of the love we have for animals but when that goes unchecked I think that is when you start to see this thought process emerge,” said Klein referring to people believing they can keep a wild animal, such as a tiger as a pet.
“But it is an opportunity to really point out there is so much more that we could be doing in the way of education. It’s a lack of understanding,” Klein said, adding that perhaps some of the blame can be placed on cartoons and anime, which “personify these animals as cute, adorable characters that form teams and are on your side.”
The Cedar Cove facility has housed a variety of animals over the years, including big cats like tigers, bobcats and leopards, as well as other species such as wolves and foxes. Klein still has foxes in enclosures, but no wolves on the premises.
As the director of Cedar Cove, Klein has seen numerous cases in Kansas where residents, against state laws, kept an exotic animal as a pet. As recently as January he traveled to Ottawa, Kansas, to rescue an abandoned male serval cat, which is a wild small cat native to Africa, that had been living in an outhouse.
Often times, Klein said, many of these exotic cats are separated from their mothers too young, leaving them without essential socialization and survival skills.
A woman had purchased the serval cat, a male, along with a female that escaped into the wilderness of Kansas and was nowhere to be seen. “She (the owner) got them to be house pets basically and then she was arrested and is serving time in jail so her family contacted us and asked us if we could do anything with this poor creature,” Klein said. “This was right before the cold spells of winter, so it was in an unheated building. This is an African animal that is not used to the extreme cold that we have here.”
Exotic Education
Tragic incidents, like the 2005 tiger mauling, are why Clark has made safety the top priority when it comes to showcasing his animals in public.
He avoids owning big cats and primates due to their high risk of aggression and unpredictable behavior.
The collection he does have is dangerous enough. Surprising to some, he says, the most difficult animal to care for and potentially the most dangerous isn’t the alligator. It’s his ostrich.
“The ostrich is big and fast and so hard to manage, so I will never bring that out,” Clark said.
Clark started Unruly Igzatiks, in 2021, and travels to schools within an hour of Warrensburg to introduce children to the animals.
He begins every presentation with a safety talk, explaining the proper way to handle each animal. Clark admits that when he first started, many schools were hesitant to allow snakes and other exotic animals on campus for student interaction.
“They had a lot of concerns at first,” said Clark. “Is a snake going to wrap around or bite a kid?” Clark uses those moments to educate, sharing safety tips such as: If you handle the rabbits make sure you sanitize your hands before handling the snakes, because the snake can smell the rabbit on you and confuses you with prey.
“I also tell them to pay attention to what the animal is trying to tell you with its body language,” Clark said. “If it doesn’t seem like it wants to be held or touched, don’t touch it.”
Both Clark and Klein believe that education is crucial for the public. While many people only encounter animals at zoos, they feel that seeing an exotic animal up close can profoundly change how a person views nature.
“We use them as the attraction to bring the public out,” said Klein. “So that we can tell their story and tell the story of what’s happening to those ecosystems that are being decimated.”
As Clark continues to expand his collection and introduce young children to exotic animals, he takes pride in not only sparking a passion for wildlife but also instilling a sense of respect for it. He said he believes that when children gain a better understanding of animals, they are more likely to protect the well-being of all living creatures.
“I love seeing how they come in and at first don’t want to touch anything,” said Clark. “Then in some time they are petting it, then holding it and when they leave they are trying to take it home with them.”
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
