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Fun in the sun!

Yesterday was such a lovely day out on the trail.  It was nice to feel that spring may finally be on its way after all of these cold and damp days recently.  Because it was so nice out, Mr. Red Fox was in a very playful mood.  He found one of the fuzzy dog toys that we have placed out in the exhibit for him to play with whenever he wants to have a bit of fun.  It’s part of the enrichment program that we have established for our animals on display.  Enrichment is an activity that encourages natural behavior within our collection’s animals.  It can be anything from rearranging the exhibit, adding extra substrate into the exhibit, placing a new toy in the exhibit for the animals to interact with, or placing an unusual scent for them to sniff while on display.  Most animals need activities that would encourage their natural behavior since they have everything provided for them here at the Museum. Here, they have regular meals, a den to sleep in, and plenty of attention and love from the keepers.  Since they don’t have the stresses of having to fend for themselves in the wild for various reasons, it’s important that we provide activities for them to enjoy.