Real Life "Fox and Hound" Story at UK Wildlife and Farm Sanctuary

A rescued fox cub and a dog bred to kill foxes are becoming friends at a hotel/wildlife sanctuary in Cornwall. The Gwel an Mor had already turned wildlife rescue into an eco-attraction at its lodge. Then animal wrangler Gary Zammit heard a fox cub crying in the field. He worried his own dog would attack the cub, but instead they've become wrestling buddies (and UK media celebrities).
 
The fox, now called Copper, and dog  Jack now play constantly, when they're not being featured on the BBC or the Telegraph or other outlets. Actually, it's their pictures of rassling that have become so popular. "They just play fight there's never any malice in it," says Zammit. Jack is a lurcher--a kind of greyhoundish mixed breed popular in the British Isles, but obscure in the U.S.--a dog traditionally used to hunt rabbit and fox.

The story is like a real life Fox and the Hound, in which a fox cub is raised by a hunter and befriends his hound. I forget the rest of the story, but I remember crying over the book as a kid. Copper isn't going to end up hunted; he'll get to live at Gwel an mor, where guests are lead on wildlife walks to try to spot wild foxes and badgers.

Zammit makes a point of telling the press that the fox cub was crying there for two days. That means he didn't just rush in and scoop it up while its mother was off hunting. He knew to wait to be sure she wasn't coming back.

Gwel an Mor itself is interesting: they're a luxury spa/lodge that also rescues wildlife. They have a fancy restaurant and rooms start around  $1,100 a week in the summer. It seems like it would be like going to the Cornish equivalent of a jungle lodge, with nightly safaris to see the local wildlife. "We will look for badgers, owls, deer and foxes close by to the holiday lodges. If the wild foxes don’t show up, don’t worry as you will be sure to meet our own rescued foxes, Todd and Sonny," their website says. "We have all sorts of other rescued wildlife coming in all the time so who knows what other wonderful creatures you might meet on the wildlife experience." 

Where to Go to See Wolves (and some other wild canids)
Where to Go See Wild Animals in Europe

Chicagoland Wildlife Refuge Could Be Chance to See Cougar, Trumpeter Swan, Cranes

This week the Fish and Wildlife Service announced they'd study a plan to start a wildlife refuge between Milwaukee and Chicago. What would the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge mean for wildlife watchers?
A chance to see cranes, trumpeter swan, otter, badger, coyote, deer--and possibly cougar, whooping cranes, a funny kind of squirrel and some threatened bats and turtles.


The Friends of the Hackmatack NWR  who have already been working for years to get this gonig, in part inspired by the fact that when Audubon Magazine boasted that "a wildlife refuge is located within an hour’s drive of every major metropolitan area" Chicago proved them wrong. It's the biggest city without one. This refuge takes note of the need for wildlife watching near where people live; it's designed to be within two hours of Chicago and Milwaukee. Judging by the excited email I got from my friend David Hall and others, I'd say it would be pretty popular.

Hackatack--named after the larch tree--would try to sew together the patchworkd of 88 parks and preserves already there so that wildlife can have some breathing room. The wildlife service wouldn't force anyone out, but they would offer to buy property within the refuge boundaries.

I did some research on what animals we might expect to see if we visited the refuge:


Cougar:  The Cougar Network has two confirmed sightings in the refuge area since 2008, one with physical evidence, the other verified by a qualified pro.

Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swan: Maybe! This endangered native swan is already very close by in Wisconsin and has benefitted from a massive reintroduction program in Iowa. Illinois seems to be doing next to nothing for these straight-necked swans--except accidentally shooting them down south.

Bats: McHenry County has six species of bats. That includes four that Wisconsin is keeping special watch over:  Eastern Red Bat, Hoary Bat, Northern Long-eared Bat, and the Silver-haired Bat.

Whooping Cran © Luther Goldman

Cranes: Sandhill cranes definitely pass through. The site is on the flyway of the flock of 21 endangered whooping cranes that summer in Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin and winter in  Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge. They are famously being taught the route, which makes stopovers in national wildlife refuges, by ultralight aircraft.

River Otter: Yep, it's all over Wisconsin

Franklin's Ground Squirrel © Tom Schultz

Franklin's Ground Squirrel: Wisconsin calls this a species of greatest concern. It's like a small prairie dog, but quiter and less entertaining.




Badger: Badgers are all over Wisconsin, but rarely seen.

Owls : McHenry has 13 species of owl, including the snowy owl.

Blanding's Turtle: This threatened turtle takes 17 to 20 years to reach maturity.

Blanding's Turtle

Black Bear: Probably not, says Wisconsin, who rates appearances here as rare. No way, says Illinois, who says only one black bear has been seen in the state since 1870 and they kicked that one out.

Wolf: Nope

Lynx: No way

American Marten: No, he's all the way up on Lake Superior

 Where to See More Animals Around the Midwest

Get a Glimpse of Native Illinois Wildlife on their Winter Break--Join the Wildlife Prairie State Park

Mother Bison directing traffic,
originally uploaded by Todd Ryburn.

Just a couple hours west of Chicago a herd of bison is taking the winter off from delighting kids. Wildlife Prairie State Park--a unique combination of wildlife center, praire re-enactment and park--closes for the winter.

The animals in big herds, the elk and bison, are taken off public display to give their summer pastures a rest, says park spokesperson Kelly Stickelmaier. The enclosures (80 acres for the elk) are big enough to approximate a natural setting, but not so huge you can't see them. (Just check the park's very active flickr group and you can see how much of the animals visitors can see.)

The park's 18 bison are especially cooperative, coming up to the viewing stand, where they're fed at 1 o'clock.  "The elk are a little more persnickety, especially the boys," Stickelmaier says. Because the bison herd reproduces, the park sells off however many are born each year to keep the total at 18.

Badger at WPSP,
originally uploaded by Mark Koonce.

I don't think I've seen another wildlife park that has badgers--and, believe me, I've looked. They've also have otters, eagles that came in through wildlife rehabilitation, skunks, bobcats and cougars.

Philantrhopist Will Rutherford started the park in 1978 mainly as a kind of rehab area for animals from the Brookfield Zoo. The park eventually shifted to native animals, then Rutherford gave the park to the state in 2000.

 Rutherford's family's Forest Park Foundation still supports the park, the Peoria Journal-Star says, but it can't make up for all the money now disgraced governor Rod Blagojevich cut from their budget. In one of his last acts, Blago used a line item veto to chop $828,000 from the Peoria park's $1.2 million budget, prompting worries it would close, according to Prairie State Outdoors. The park has come up with some creative ways to raise and save money to support their animals. You can still visit while the park is closed in winter if you become a member or rent a cottage. You can rent out a room for a business meeting or party--maybe even the one that looks out on the wolf pen. And they've even loaned out a couple bears. Certainly it's worth a visit and maybe a membership.



Join Wildlife Prairie State Park
Find other places to see wildlife in the Midwest with this AnimalTourism.com map
Where can I find the nearest buffalo herd?