MARSHFIELD, WI (OnFocus) – Wildwood Zoo is excited to announce the arrival of “Willow,” a female red fox. She is a year-old marble morph fox with a beautiful white coat and unique black markings. She was initially kept as a pet and transferred to Wildwood Zoo when her living situation needed to be adjusted.
She was not a candidate for being released as she was too habituated and reliant on humans, and she could not survive on her own. Willow remained off exhibit for the past month to acclimate to her new caretakers and clear her quarantine period. She has proven to be an inquisitive, playful, and easygoing individual. She is a bit shy, but she is adjusting well to her new exhibit. Willow’s situation coincided with the passing of Blizzard, the senior arctic fox, and she is fortunate to call Wildwood Zoo her forever home.
Red foxes are the most common fox species in the world and the largest of the true foxes. They are typically about 3 feet long and 2 feet tall with a red-orange coat, white belly and throat, white-tipped tail, and black ears and legs. They have a long, narrow snout and large, pointed ears. Their proportions vary with their ecosystem; desert-dwelling foxes are taller and lankier with thinner coats, while foxes from colder places are shorter, stocky, and fluffy. They make a range of vocalizations, from soft huffs and whines to loud coughing sounds (called gekkering), barks, and screams. Families will often stay together and share a territory, which may overlap with other families’ territories.
There is considerable variation in the color morphs of red foxes. Natural coloring ranges from typical reddish-orange to shades of yellow and tan, nearly white, or almost entirely black. Silver foxes are the most common morph in North America, with a predominantly black coat and silver mottling across the face and back. While there have been attempts at domesticating foxes, true domestication has yet to be achieved as the process typically takes hundreds or thousands of years.
A Russian geneticist named Dmitry Belyayev bred multiple generations of silver foxes, selecting individuals who showed less fear and more attraction toward humans. While some consider this project a successful domestication, foxes from this line are more accurately described as tame. Even foxes meant to be companion animals still retain their wild instincts. They are loud, smelly, destructive, and likely to escape if not kept in a proper enclosure.
Foxes are also very mouthy and communicate extensively using their teeth. Despite the growing popularity and demand for pet foxes, they do not make good pets.
If you want to keep up with Wildwood Zoo news, check our zoo’s Facebook page and our City website at www.marshfield.wi.us. In addition to keeping up with the animals, you can learn more about special events, new exhibits, and other happenings. As always, the staff and volunteers at Wildwood Zoo thank you for your past and future support and patronage.
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Author: News Desk
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