A flying Pixel 30-3-15

Presumably Polar Bear/Arctic Fox has been done too though I haven't actually come across it. These enclosures would certainly be spacious enough for it to work.

Maguari said:

Bears and foxes are not an uncommon mix (often Corsac Foxes, but I've seen Red as well) so it's far from out of the question.

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Where have you seen this done Maguari, and what species of bear was it?
Was it at South lakes by any chance

And surely if an Arctic fox was in a Polar bear enclosure it would become quite nocturnal? I really cant see it happening at YWP anyway.

Corsac foxes were kept with brown bears at Heidelberg Zoo for many years - and the species may still be together.

There was an article in an old International Zoo Yearbook about a mixed plar bear / arctic fox exhibit at, I think, Omaha Zoo.

Bears and wolves are, of course, quite a common combination.

That's good to know,thanks for that info sooty.

I suppose if the foxes had a den that had a small access tunnel and it was in an area that was protected by "hot wires" or similar protective measures then everything would work out fine. There is definitely enough room at YWP to make it work,and lots of different terrain to utilise. Probably the "2nd" enclosure,that is actually very likely to be the 3rd one finished would be the most suitable with its mound of earth able to house an underground den for the foxes.But also the current one has lots of rockwork up the banking that would also work well.

Big Rob said:

Where have you seen this done Maguari, and what species of bear was it?
Was it at South lakes by any chance

And surely if an Arctic fox was in a Polar bear enclosure it would become quite nocturnal? I really cant see it happening at YWP anyway.

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Off the top of my head, Heidelberg and Gotha with Syrian and Corsac, Dierenrijk with Asian Black and Corsac, and Osnabrueck with Brown x Polar hybrids and Silver (Red) Foxes. I think Gelsenkirchen had Arctic Foxes with one of their Brown subspecies - the Kamchatkans?

I believe even Chessington tried it with their larger Bear enclosures- Brown bear and (Red?) Fox. Not sure how long it lasted though, but the area was minute compared to these YWP enclosures.

If the Arctic Foxes were confident around the bears, they might be diurnal, especially if the Polars are fed meat in the daytime for the foxes to scavenge and the foxes weren't overfed by being fed on their own privately too.

Pertinax said:

I believe even Chessington tried it with their larger Bear enclosures- Brown bear and (Red?) Fox. Not sure how long it lasted though, but the area was minute compared to these HWP enclosures.

If the Arctic Foxes were confident around the bears, they might be diurnal, especially if the Polars are fed meat in the daytime for the foxes to scavenge and the foxes weren't overfed by being fed on their own privately too.

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We are talking YWP,not HWP.

I will ask the rangers next time I am there and see if it has ever been discussed.
I have found that on the whole that the rangers don't seem to get much heads up on what the plans are. Its not a criticism as I think the management at YWP get it pretty much right most of the time.I suppose they class it as a "need to know" basis. I even had one ranger tell me the other day that she finds out more from me than I do from her.

Big Rob said:

We are talking YWP,not HWP.

I will ask the rangers next time I am there and see if it has ever been discussed.
I have found that on the whole that the rangers don't seem to get much heads up on what the plans are.

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Forgive confusion, both having large Polar enclosures of course.

The Zoo heirarchy has always been thus. So many times I have talked to keepers who say they are the 'last to know' or 'aren't told anything'. It happens in very many places- the larger the establishment, the more it is common I think.