Here is the final set of pictures I took on Friday
They constantly watched Chantae’s hands, waiting patiently for her to throw them another treat.
The last enclosure contained two wolves who are not very comfortable around people and they never approached the fenceline as the others did. Their names and information panel was at the bottom of the hill (I thought we’d be going out that way but we didn’t) and I wasn’t allowed back down there unescorted.
When we were done with the tour Chantae lead us through a “group howl”. She demonstrated how we were to do it and on the count of three we all howled (there were about 20 of us on the tour). Sure enough, the animals howled back and they took turns, answering one another, with the sound going back and forth around the various enclosures for about two minutes.
As I was walking back to my car these two red foxes had come out of hiding and were playing, although as soon as I got the camera ready the one on the right laid down and the other started cleaning and grooming it. The close fencing (a tighter pattern than on the wolf enclosures) also made it difficult to get a clear shot.
I used to see red foxes on the property of the farm house I lived in for several years before moving into my current apartment in Durham. I also heard coyotes howling during the night the last year I lived up there and discovered that there was a den just a few hundred yards up the hill from the house. Once I knew they were there I would see them occasionally but they always kept their distance.
I’m really glad I went back to this facility as I enjoyed seeing and learning about the various animals. Yes, they are in captivity but they are very well cared for and seem to be happy where they are, unlike animals I have seen in many zoos who act like they’d much rather be somewhere else.
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