Friendships

Although I can't tell the four youngsters apart at this point, I'm betting this is Patty. I often come across Dylan resting next to just one of the kits, and it makes sense that it would be Patty, the most assertive of the group. They all play together every night. Mostly the youngsters, but Dylan will jump in once in a while. They're going through tons of kibble and growing like weeds. But they still have a long time to go til they're ready for release. I have a potential realease spot with a pond that I need to survey. I added a videos of Dylan barking at me to my youtube page. Still have to capture his "voops". That's his most prevalent vocalization.

Just cleaned and fixed up the raccoon cage, as I have just booked several "guests" for the summer.

New foxes, same routine

Springtime again brings young foxes to the Sanctuary. Although I regret that this new group of four reds has to start out life in rehab, I am glad they are here for Dylan's sake. Although Dylan gets along well with Joey, and his presence stimulates Joey to interact, Joey's brain injury makes him somewhat lacking as a playmate. Since Melanie's departure Dylan really only gets up to speed in his play (literally) when other foxes are present. At some point I may need to replace Melanie just to keep Dylan happy, but I will only take a rescue and of course only one that gets along with Dylan so the search may take time.

In the meantime Dylan seems perfectly happy with this year's crew. He took over their care the minute I introduced them and is adamant that I keep my distance now that they are "his". The poor things wound up in rehab due to some idiots wanting them off "their" property and an idiot trapper thinking he had a chance of trapping the kits and mom. Of course he got the kits only. As bad as I feel for them, I feel worse for the mom who had her family kidnapped. I know from experience that foxes will mourn losses. I believe their intelligence is on par with domesticated canines and felines and we all understand that our pets do have feelings.

Off the soapbox, here are some photos and their rehab story to date. The foxes arrived in good shape on May 18, having been rescued from the trapper by another rehabber. As you can see in this first picture of Patty, they have a habit of pooping and peeing when nervous. This is a general trait of foxes young and old and reminds me of the peeing reflex in overly submissive female dogs. And makes handling them quite a messy experience.


I try to take photos of my patients as soon as they are stable. I've found a photographic record can be very helpful. Handling these guys was quite a challenge. They were very wild as they came in at an older age than most orphaned foxes. They were about 2 pounds apiece, somewhere around 6-8 weeks old and squirmy as anything. And of course their stool samples were positive for hook and roundworms so I had to squirt wormer into them the second day they were here.

There were 3 males and one female. As usual, the female was dominant, protecting her brothers and much more aggressive with me. I named her Patty, and the more aggressive male Robbie after the volunteer transporters who drove her to me. These two stick together as do the two shyer ones, Shawn and Sid. They spent about a week in the interior hospital cage, but it was much too small for them so they then went into an intermediate cage that I constructed while they waited. They needed to be separated at first from Dylan and Joey as a precaution against any communicable diseases and of course to observe them more closely. Once they are in the outdoor run I minimize handling so I want to be absolutely sure everyone is healthy and eating before transfer. They get a dose of Revolution to protect them from any mange mites that might be lingering in the environment as well. They are totally entertaining at this point. I watch them remotely via video camera. I have a few videos up on my youtube site (click on the My Videos link on the left of this screen).

So now they play and wait to be old enough for release. In the meantime I fill their cage daily with yummy, fun and educational stuff. Mice, grapes, berries and insects to learn natural foods; grass, sod, bones, leaves and dirt for nutrition, fun and challenge (to find insects themselves); and stuffed animals and toys just for fun. They learn to chase, challenge, communicate and fight from eachother and Dylan and Joey.

Catching Up

Seems we won't get the usual January thaw this year. But this year is so different from the recent ones we don't know what to expect. Has remained in the teens and twenties, with overnights below zero. Walked a ways across Lake George Friday, following the snowmobile tracks from Million Dollar beach to Shepards Park. Its so beautiful in every season but winter is special.

Catching up on my updates, in September I had the raptor cage faced over and roofed. Hoping no more trees fall on it.


Still was working on the facing of the fox den, but the inside was temporarily furnished and functional. Huge improvement over last year. I no longer have to shovel out the inside space. It is roofed as well. All that's neede don the outside is a bit of trim around one window and the final coat of linseed oil. Got the sign finished in November.

Winter

This past week the temperatures plummeted well below zero. And the snow hasn't stopped. It must be snowing two or three times a week. We've probably gotten over 4 feet in total, but of course it packs down and I would guess there's about 3 feet on the ground. So every weekend I go out and snowshoe down the trails through our backyard. Most times I can't ski until I've walked the trail. With new snow constantly the snowshoeing has gotten to be routine and the skiing rare. It's a wonderful walk out to the foxes. From there I have a trail through the woods and back into the yard, past the compost heap, the bird feeders and the woodpile. Its a balmy 9 degrees today. Last night I brought some rats out to the foxes in about -9 degrees. That's when the snowsuit crinkles like a paper bag
.Snowshoe hare tracks

There are tracks that follow and cross my trails. Snowshoe hares and foxes are the most abundant, but there are also some neighborhood cats that wander all over our acreage, and certainly squirrels, deer & coyotes. Can't wait to be able to afford a game cam to see whether its red or gray foxes out there. Or even a stray ranch fox. I really wonder about whether Melanie survived. Its really horrible to lose a fox. Constructing caging for wild critters is always a challenge. I worry about my cage designs all the time. I lost Blue due to using an S-hook rather than a closed hook and lost Mel to a gate latch that loosened up over winter. So many times I told myself I needed to better secure that door, and yet I let it go. Sometimes fate just makes the call. Mel was the one who was most abused according to the folks I got her from so she was the one most terrified of humans. Lets hope she stayed away from them as they are a foxes worst enemy.


Dylan doesn't mind the temperatures in the least. He doesn't even go into the den box or under cover. He just stays on his shelf and lets the snow cover him. He just loves digging in it. Joey also hasn't used his den box in a long time, he hangs out in a more open, but covered area. The den box is now under about two feet of snow but they keep a channel to the door dug out. They both still have a good layer of fat. I watch them run around the cage every night on the video camera. I keep trying to catch some of their antics on camera but of course as soon as I set up in front of the computer they stop.

2009

Clyde's release in September

Well, I've procrastinated blogging for lots of reasons. Since I released the youngsters last year I've given a lot of thought to discontinuing my public blogging and website for the sake of privacy. I love to share the experiences I have with wildlife but the thought of so many strangers having access to my backyard is disconcerting. Especially since I have had so much exposure to mentally unstable personalities. It's a little like the decision on whether to keep putting bumper stickers on the car. I should be free to be me but do I want to give cops who target deadheads a reason to pull me over? Do complete strangers need to know my political beliefs?

Yes, I could limit access to my blogs and websites, but it really is interesting to meet new people electronically and it would give my friends and family just one more password to remember. So for now I'll just move the personal stuff over to another forum.

So, to update. Once the babes were released I spent the rest of the fall continuing cage construction and trying to find a companion for Dylan. With Melanie still among the missing, and obviously not likely to return, I see a void for him as he looks for someone to chase. He does challenge Joey, and Joey responds to the best of his ability, but he is limited in his capacity to play. This is a huge decision. To take on the responsibility of another animal in this economy is scary. We're already facing huge medical costs for our kitten, who was diagnosed with liver disease and anemia at less than a year of age, with no cause pinpointed.

Despite my concern for Dylan's happiness, I decided that I would not purchase a ranch fox because that would condone their breeding. It's like buying a puppy from a pet store. All you're doing is perpetuating the abuses of puppy mills. Sure, you can rationalize that you've "saved" the one you bring home but you do more damage in the long run. And I think this interim situation is very good for Joey as Dylan continues to challenge him to react and he is responding positively. So I will leave it up to fate. This is a sanctuary, for animals who need care, not a zoo.

Its been very snowy and very cold here in the North Country. And absolutely beautiful. Just before Christmas I purchased some "imperfect" rodents from a company that breeds them for laboratories. I try to keep frozen mice around for injured raptors, winter is the time they tend to come in. And extras go to Dylan and Joey, who have a blast playing with them and get a more natural diet in the process. On New Years eve I went out at 11:00 pm to bring them their feast. The temperature was exactly zero and there was about two feet of snow on the ground. My snowsuit crinkled as I walked and the moonlight sparkled off the snow. Its wonderful to have these guys bring me outside on nights like that. And just after I purchased the rodents I received a donation that covered their cost. karma.

I wish us all peace in the coming year, and hope for better times. Its so sad to see people struggling to keep their heads above water.

Release!

Today was release day for the reds and transfer time for Cecil. I found another rehabber with three other grays so we packed up Cecil to join his new pack. We took the reds to a remote area down the road.

I packed them up a dinner of mice, grapes and kibble
Set them up at the starting gate

And off they went. None of the photos I took got much of a sighting of fleeing foxes, but here one of them turns back to say goodbye, can you spot him/her?

Here's the close up.


Here are the last photos I took of them before capturing them and sending them off


Cecil with a great pose. Cecil gained two pounds in his short stay. He definitely held his own with the others.


Dylan, Foster & Blue


As usual, Damien wouldn't sit still

and Maggie , grand dame of the quartet. She'll take good care of them.

Cecil

Cecil joined the gang on Sunday. Found accidentally locked in a basement, he almost starved to death. He was lucky to be rescued by the local Animal Control Officer. If there were any grays around I would have sent him to another rehabber but it seems I'm the only one with fox orphans at all so despite the species and age difference I think he still will be better off here than being housed alone. He's certainly fitting right in with the gang even though he's probably half their size. If course he'll be too young to be released with the others but he can hang with Joey and Dylan til he's ready to go.

Damien still doesn't sit still for photos

Foster & Blue keep growing

Dylan's as protective as ever

And Maggie's still Queen