What is your favorite animal (besides ferrets) ?

[Forum Administrator]

My favorite animal besides ferrets is wolves




I love the black ones the best, something about that raven colored fur and bright yellow eyes just appeals to me

My favorite species of wolf is the grey wolf (Canis lupus), and my favorite sub-species of gray wolf is Canis lupus nubilis, also known as the Mackenzie Valley Wolf (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackenzie_Valley_Wolf)

I LOVE wolves, they are so majestic and amazing. I currently volunteer as a docent at The Wild Canid Survival and Research Center. It is a wolf sanctuary in Eureka, MO that focuses on research, education, and conservation of wolves (through captive breeding and reintroduction programs).

How about you? What's your favorite animal (BESIDES ferrets )

[meli]

Ur kidding me right?! Wolves? Giuli..I LOVE LOVE wolves. I watched a documentary about their release back into yellowstone, I also read the book, as well as writing a research paper about it. I'm also so very upset about the government allowing hunters to keep the wolf population in "check" by having open hunting seasons for them! It angers me that after all the work conservationists did to bring them back into the wild is being toyed with by stupid hunters who want a head to mount on their wall!!!

There was another documentary I watched about a wolf sancutary. I always wanted a wolf hybird to! But ya they are my fav. animal. The black ones are beautiful...they are all.

[Forum Administrator]

Its a good thing you didnt get a wolf hybrid. Its really sad about the hybrids. Part of my docent training was learning about hybrids. We get about 30 calls a month at the Wild Canid Center from people asking us to take their hybrids. We cant take them since we are not a hybrid sanctuary, and all the wolf-hybrid sanctuaries are full The poor things wind up getting euthenized if they cant find a hybrid sanctuary. Hybrids really dont make good pets. They are much more active then regular dogs and they are VERY prey agressive. You'll get people who say "Well MY wolf hybrid never did that" but there are always exceptions. When you take a naturally timid animal (wolf) and mix it with an animal that is comfortable around people (dogs) you wind up with a very large, agressive, animal that is too rough for its own good.

Its unfourtunate because wolf hybrids are more agressive then wolves, so when they bite people then PURE wolves get a bad rap. The reality is that pure wolves are actually quite timid. Even the wolves at the sanctuary I work at (who are used to seeing people but have VERY limited actual human contact) are scared of people. The topic of hybrids is a very touchy topic, especially around the sanctuary. I personally am against them. I dont think that the current hybrids should be destroyed, but I think there should be bans on them.

Here is my wolf sanctuary's opinion on them:
www.wildcanidcenter.org/Home/default.htm

(On a side note, its really sad that in some parts of the country its legal to own a wolf hybrid or even a tiger, but in Cali its illegal to own a domestic animal (ferrets). )

I love volunteering at the sanctuary. I signed up in april to be a docent (a tour guide) for the sanctuary. I had to take a 6 week course on the animals at the sanctuary:

Canis rufus (The red wolf)
Canis lupus baileyi (The Mexican Grey Wolf)
Vulpes velox (Swift Foxes)
Chrysocyon Brachyurus (The Maned Wolf)
Lycaon Pictus (Afrian Wild Dogs)

They are all very different and very interesting. Its sad how they all became endangered though Really really sad.

[Forum Administrator]

Here is the place I am a docent at:

www.wildcanidcenter.org/

[meli]

I also heard about the hybrids to with their aggression and the way they act when indoors. I saw someone giving one up on craigslist not to long ago. It was beautiful though.

Its so awesome that you're able to do that kind of thing. When I read your "about me" post I was in awe because everything you stated is what I wanted to do when I graduated from high school back in 98. I wanted to be vet and was completely fascinated by wolves. I had shirts, statues, posters, books..you name it I had it. Kudos to you giuli!

[Forum Administrator]

Awe thank you, Meli!

Its alot of work juggling everything, but I know there are lots of people who do much more then I do, and I am in awe of them. They really impress me with their dedication to various causes

[kuuipo61606]

ooooooh. wolves are great. i like CHEETAHS!!!!!!! yay!

[tako]

I like umm...animals? Honestly, I have never really been able to pick a favorite. When I was little my favorite animal would change by the week. It'd be whatever I had recently heard the coolest thing about. We didn't have cable tv when I was younger, so I watched public broadcast nature shows for the entirety of summer break when I was younger