Foxes Below

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Directly below you, is another Fox habitat. These delightful animals are typically quite visible. However, if you are not seeing them, be sure to look around tree bases, logs, or - like their tiger neighbors to the east - curled up in the grass. A couple of them are cream colored, so they may not look like what you are expecting to see. They were rescued from a roadside zoo in Virginia that was closed down due to abuse and neglect. In 2019, the Sanctuary rescued a total of 24 animals from that location.

 

Swimming with Tiger Cubs

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In the large habitat directly in front of you, or to the east, are two Tigers. Pearl, the white female, and Brutus, the orange-colored male can sometimes be tricky to find when they lay down in the grass. A head may pop up you didn’t know was there! These Tigers spent time at Joe Exotic’s Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park that was featured in the Netflix docuseries, “Tiger King” after being bred for a “swimming with tigers” venture in Florida. Online video footage shows terrified cubs flailing in the water with patrons seemingly enjoying the experience. The cubs were subject to exhaustion and hypothermia, and like with all small cub encounters, were separated from their mother at birth or shortly thereafter. We hope you enjoy seeing these Tigers living freely, and not being exploited for financial gain.

 

Coyotes

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Just up ahead on the left side of the walkway is another habitat with Coyotes. Even if not down in their dens, they can still be difficult to see, even in plain sight, due to the color of their fur. These Coyotes came from a terrible zoo situation in Mexico where they were living in small transfer cages stacked on top of one another because the zoo had no other room for them. In this enclosure you will notice a cantilevered overhang at the top of the fence which is one way to prevent animals from climbing over the fence. Another thing you will notice with the Fox, Coyote and Wolf habitats is that it is necessary to have either rocks or concrete underneath the fence to prevent digging. It is not that the animals are trying to escape, but as many guests can attest to, canines simply love to dig. If you are here in the late hours of the day, the Sanctuary’s Coyotes and perhaps even some wild Coyote residents may serenade you with their yipping and howling, which is always an enjoyable experience.

 

Black Bears

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In the long narrow habitat behind the Coyotes you will find a number of Black Bears. In each case they come from very horrible situations. Most of the Bears were rescued from South Carolina where they were used for the ancient blood sport of Bear-baiting. South Carolina was the last state in the country to make this illegal. Bear-baiting is where the Bears would be chained to a wall and then hunting dogs could practice assailing them. In order to protect the dogs, the Bears were both declawed and had their canine teeth filed down or removed. Another Black Bear in this habitat is one of our most well-known animals. Her name is Ricki and she was rescued from a tourist place in Pennsylvania where people could buy ice cream and play miniature golf. She lived in a small concrete enclosure for close to 20 years. But fortunately, there was eventually enough public pressure placed on the owner and he agreed to give her up. Now all of these bears can live comfortable lives free of exploitation and abuse.

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