Puppies! - Wolf Park

*)+
Basil and Devon, and indeed Corey and Ember, had a subtle, almost to
the point of nonexistence, breeding season. While we wish we could
watch all our animals 24/7, if only to keep up on the latest gossip, we
unfortunately cannot, and the foxes get up to all their most foxy things in
the wee, wee hours of the morning when we humans usually are not
around. So, if anyone did anything this breeding season, they’re
keeping it secret. Even so, both “pairs” remain more or less affectionate
Corey.
couples. Corey and Ember can often be
seen nibble grooming each other, and, well,
Basil does not always toss Devon
unceremoniously off the side when Devon
jumps up to “share” a fox box with him….
Spring snuck in with very little change in
the fox enclosure, especially in the area of
landscaping. While Devon and Ember (and,
probably, our dear
“innocent” Basil) did
put in at least a
perfunctory effort at
digging dens for
nonexistent baby foxes again this year, so far no
enormous renovations or “repavings” have been
required. The girls did put some work in on a den
in the rear of the enclosure — fortunately safely
away from all the fences and under a big pile of
logs we had put there to encourage the foxes to
dig in that relatively safe location. We would say
something silly like “Maybe we won’t actually
need to pave the whole enclosure,” but when we say things like that it
seems that the foxes hear it (no matter where we are) and immediately
take it upon themselves to prove us wrong.
Devon’s “hot spots” (skin
sores due to allergies), while
remaining a lurking threat,
have been more or less
dormant so far this year (and
now that we’ve said that…).
Instead, this year Corey
stepped in and filled the “fox
worrying gap” by getting a
Devon.
Photo by Monty Sloan
Photo by Monty Sloan
Basil.
bizarre bald spot on his rump
which appeared overnight and
almost immediately started growing healthy fur back in. For a while he
had a big red spot on his rump, with the shiny new red fur standing out
'!+
brightly against his
older winter coat. It
looked kind of funny,
but it didn’t seem to
make much of a
difference to him.
Basil, who was
most likely born in
1995, is wandering
cutely into the path
of middle age, while Ember balances atop a “fox box”.
Photo by Monty Sloan
the girls, turning four this year, are just hitting their prime. Fortunately,
Basil seems to wear age well, giving him a dashing Sean Connery look
rather than a Mr. Magoo mien. Adequan seems to be making a big
difference in Mr. Basil’s mobility. Though he still has his “creaky” days,
we still find him on top of fox boxes (and heads!) quite a lot of the time,
and he always has a loud “squee!” to offer incoming visitors. We are
considering adding craniosacral therapy, which
seems to make a lot of our creakier animals
happy, to Basil’s regimen to see if he’s
interested in it. Given that he’s usually thrilled
to have anybody put their hands on him
(especially if food is involved) we feel he’ll be
happy to take part.
Basil and Devon spent a lot of the winter
lounging in a single ray of sun which hit the “fox
hammock” we unintentionally installed in the
Photo by Monty Sloan
back half of the enclosure. We say
“unintentionally” installed, because it wasn’t
intended to be a fox hammock — really it was
supposed to be an ivy arbor, but we never found ivy for it and now it
holds lazy foxes. Recently Ember was seen giving it a try as well.
Perhaps we should build a big hammock so that all four foxes can
enjoy appearing to float in midair and making humans look at them
funny.
Starting last fall, Devon decided to test Ember and spent some
“quality time” chasing her around and around, nibbling on her, and
generally driving her crazy. For a while we were worried we might
have to separate them, but through the winter the behavior went away
and this spring we have caught the girls snuggling together, crammed
into the same fox box peacefully, several times. They pile up in a fluffy
mound of orange and silver fur, which is so cute we often can’t enter
the enclosure until we’ve had a good look at it. When staff call their
names their heads pop up out of the mound of fur and they squeak
and wave their tails, still happily wrapped around each other.
Kodi and Katia, the two New Guinea Singing Dogs we currently have on loan from the Columbian
Park Zoo while their enclosure at the Zoo is being renovated, are settling in nicely. Katia caught an
unwary rabbit, who had wandered unknowingly into the enclosure, in early May, and fiercely
defended it from all comers while she enjoyed it.
While Katia remains more or less aloof with interns, usually not getting much closer than three
to five feet, Kodi is working hard to build a fan following at the Park. His penchant for scentrubbing
on hair has entranced many an intern or staff member. The dogs also keep a close eye on
the fox enclosure just across the trail, and Kodi makes sure to remind any visitors to the fox
enclosure that New Guinea Singing Dogs are just as cute.
Both dogs have added their distinctive, melodious howls to the wolves’ chorus, indicating that
they have claimed their new enclosure as their territory and are defending it. We are glad they
seem to feel right at home.
Kodi and Katia.
Photo by Monty Sloan
Each week keepers from the Columbian Park Zoo visit the dogs and bring them items of interest. One week it might just be an unusual smell
(coffee or molasses); other weeks have seen the dogs gifted with plush professional wrestlers and toy lawnmowers.
Wolf Park News Spring 2004 5