Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Just as Jackalpalloza was settling down around here, the third musketeer has shown up and jackal mania has now been dialed up to 11. You see when JABCECC was first contacted about these black backed jackals, we were informed that there were potentially three babies that needed a perfect home. Since our motto here is “no canid gets left behind” of course we agreed to give all of them a home. This motto has roots that go to the very beginning of the center. Boris and Sophie were the first Belyaev foxes to come to JABCECC. Initially only one of them was going to be rescued. Management was told to choose which one would come to America to live the good life. This just wasn’t going to be OK so a way was found to not leave one of them behind. The same was true for me coming to the center. When a researcher fell in love with Panda, JABCECC was asked if there was a way to get her here so she could be happy. Management agreed but soon found out Panda had 8 pals. Once again, none of us were left behind. In light of this, it’s no surprise that all the jackals were offered a home. Unfortunately, before they could make the trip, one of them broke their leg. In order to allow her time to heal and have continuity of care, jackals Shaka and Zuri came first, followed by Nalla once she healed. Now that we have all gotten to see what a pistol Nalla can be, there have been discussions that her injury might have been an inside job.
It has become clear to me that if I am to have any chance of getting these guys under control, I needed to learn more about jackals. During this research I learned that Black Backed Jackals are the most basal of the dog like canids. This means they are at the base of the evolutionary tree having been around for millions of years. I told Yuri about the jackals being basal and after what appeared to be a bout of deep thought he exclaimed. “That’s great, but actually I prefer oregano”. Oh Yuri, a sweet guy but if he ever has an intelligent thought it will surely die of loneliness.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/Vlad - May 12, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Crikey it was a busy week at the center. We had guests out doing behavioral testing on us foxes. Dr. Anna Kukekova, who is a professor of molecular genetics from the University of Illinois was among them. She has done some of the seminal work understanding how our genetics makes us Belyaev foxes so special. I actually overheard her speaking to management about some of the techniques she uses to sequence our DNA. Thankfully, just the other day on a trip to the loo, I picked up some reading material to entertain myself during my “quality time”. The books I randomly grabbed were, How to 💩 in the Woods (an environmentally sound approach to a lost art) by Kathleen Meyer, The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America by Matt Kracht and Molecular Genetics for Exceptionally Gifted Foxes. Knowing full well how to 💩 in the woods and already knowing how to identify a dumb bird, I started to read the book on genetics. It was fascinating and enabled me to understand what Dr. Kukekova was talking about.
Once they isolate our DNA they will sequence it on a machine from a company called Pac Bio. For those of you who have not read Molecular Genetics for Exceptionally Gifted Foxes, this means they will determine the order of certain compounds on the DNA strand. This used to be an incredibly laborious process that often had many errors. These new machines make it much faster and more accurate by reading a single molecule of DNA at a time. You can think of DNA in a cell like a pot of cooked spaghetti. Say your pasta noodles have basil, olives, tomatoes, and onions incorporated into them. When you look into the pot all you would see is a scrambled mess of noodles so it would be difficult to tell the order of ingredients on any one noodle. You need to pull a noodle out and stretch it, then you can look at the strand and one by one identify the order of your produce. This is kind of what the Pac Bio machine does to DNA.
Once the scientists know all the information about our DNA 🧬 they can see if they can find any associations between our sequences and our behaviors, hence the testing of our behavior.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/Vlad - April 28, 2023
Friday Chat w/Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Well, jackal fever is still going strong at JABCECC. The munchkins are growing like weeds and are eating pretty much non stop. And can we talk about the mischief they get into? Suffice it to say I am going to have my paws full instilling discipline into those little nippers. I can’t start working with them yet because they’re still in quarantine. One of the rules the center must follow to obtain the appropriate permits to have us here is to have a vet plan. This covers the procedures that need to be followed when new residents arrive. They need to get all their vaccinations and have some tests done to make sure everyone stays healthy. Until then, they can’t be close to others.
We are all very excited that we were able to procure a new transport vehicle. Up until this point, in order to go to our various functions, we had to borrow a van. While everyone was appreciative to have access to this vehicle, it was not the safest or most luxurious ride. First of all, during hard braking the van would bounce around like a hyperactive bucking bronco with a broken jar of fire ants under its saddle. On several occasions this caused me to spill my latte. Secondly, the air conditioner barely worked. If you’ve never spent two hours in a van next to a sweaty #dorkwolf, you don’t know the meaning of misery. Had we not gotten this vehicle, it would not have been long before we had to hitch rides to get around. I wouldn’t have any problem getting picked up, but have you seen the motley crew I travel with? Can you imagine the look on an unsuspecting motorists face when they stop to pick up the most handsome fox they’ve ever seen, and then out from behind a bush come 20 foxes, 3 Jackals, 2 coyotes and a #dorkwolf?
I recently sent Vasily out on a mission to check out our new wheels. He reported back that it is a Ford. I hear Bugatti also makes a van. I wonder why we didn’t get that one. Probably because it would cut into Yuri’s bear claw budget by too much. The price I pay for associating with that pastry munching boy.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/Vlad - April 21, 2023
Friday Chat w/Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. I’m guessing all my peeps have heard about our new ambassadors by now. I mean you’d really have to be living under a rock not to have heard about them. It’s been all jackals all the time here at JABCECC. It’s not that I’m jealous or anything, it’s just that I should have been given a heads up about the arrival of these guys. Apparently management was contacted a few weeks ago and asked if they would provide a forever home for some jackals. The first thing management did was to get the necessary permits in place, get their habitat figured out, get their veterinarian care settled, etc. The first thing they should have done was ask Vlad how he felt about it. I mean I’m the one who will need to shape them into ambassadors worthy of JABCECC. Anyway that’s water under the bridge now, so let me formally introduce our new black backed jackal residents, Shaka and Zuri.
When Yuri heard that the little jackal girl’s name was Zuri and that was so close to his name he got excited. He figured she would share his love of breakfast pastries. I told him to check Wikipedia for the diet of jackals. He told me it said medium and small animals, vegetation and human refuse. Just for fun he also checked what Wikipedia had to say about the diet of a red fox. Again, nary a mention of this beloved pastries. Since he saw this, he has been working feverishly to edit the Wikipedia information on the diet of a red fox to include bear claws. We all acknowledge Yuri is not the sharpest tool in the shed but should he be successful I apologize. Being opportunistic eaters I think it is safe to say most red foxes would not turn down a bear claw but with the exception of Yuri, bear claws do not make up a major portion of the diet of any red fox.
Yuri also learned that black backed jackals are indigenous to south and southeast Africa. Like red foxes, they are mesopredators. Also like red foxes, with the possible exception of Yuri, they are highly intelligent.
So now I find out Shaka and Zuri have a sister who is also coming to live with us. Why I have to learn such things from our social media pages is beyond me.
Vlad out
Fridays Chat w/Vlad - April 7, 2023
Friday Chat w/Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. I thought today we would put our intellectual hats on and discuss a question we get quite often. What is the difference between taming and domestication? Now I know this is not the most entertaining conversation. It’s certainly not as exciting as talking about Yuri getting his head caught in stuff.
I am a Russian domesticated fox. This means that first humans selectively bred my relatives for a particular trait, tameness. They did this for many years to a lot of foxes. They did this so much that it actually changed my genetics. This means that my offspring, if I were to have them, and we all know I am the most eligible bachelor around here, would be tame just because the fact that they possess my genetics. If someone were to take a wild fox baby and raise it away from other foxes and only around humans, this fox could grow up friendly to people. This fox is not domesticated because if it’s offspring were not socialized around people they would be just like other wild foxes. It’s tamed.
This can get tricky because different animals can be more or less susceptible to being tamed. Us foxes being of superior intellect do not look a gift horse in the mouth. If a human seems nice enough and wants to give us all the food we want, who are we to turn it down. We are ok calling this human our friend. Other animals might not be such opportunists. Some have even questioned if all house cats are actually domesticated or are they just tamed animals using humans for their tender vittles.
Animals like Nick and Stumpy fall into a grey area. While they can be quite friendly with people and they certainly enjoy a comfy sofa... mostly to sleep on but sometimes to eat, we don’t know enough about their evolutionary history to definitively categorize them. We do know that NGSDs can live in the wild without human help quite well and if not socialized can be very wary of humans. So they remain a enigma wrapped in a mystery.
Next time we speak we will go back to our normal fun and hijinks. I will see if I can get some pics of Yuri with a “kick me” sign stuck to his back side. That will be worthy of a lengthy chat.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/Vlad - March 24, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Greetings and salutations from sunny California…NOT. Have you guys heard about the weather out here?? It has been raining for what seems like weeks. As a matter of fact I recently sent a memo to management inquiring about the possible construction of an ark. When people out here talk about it they always end with “but we really needed the rain”. That is kind of like saying “but I really needed the root canal”. Sure, it may be helpful, but it is not something anyone really likes. Now I know what you are thinking….jeez Vlad, why are you out in the rain getting all wet when you have an absolutely delightful indoor habitat?? I will answer that by saying I am not going to let the rain spoil my day. After all without the rain there would be no rainbows 🌈. That does sound nauseatingly positive but the truth is there are always ways to keep oneself entertained even on days like these. For instance just a bit ago I told Yuri there was a bear claw pastry at the bottom of this big puddle and then watched in delight as he dove in face first only to reemerge with a mouth full of mud…good times.
Unfortunately the rain is delaying some of our important projects here. Both the healing path and the perimeter fence expansion are on hold until the weather clears. The healing path is the area dedicated to the most known and abundant canid, the domesticated dog. And of course the perimeter fence expansion will allow us to rescue more animals. Hopefully they both get back on track soon.
So until the sun comes back I will just be a soggy and slightly disgruntled fox. Luckily everyone here just loves the smell of wet fox in the morning. Truly something to put on your bucket list. I’ve just been told that Panda and Sergei are trying to get a game of water polo going in one of the larger puddles…l’m just not sure how they are going to get the horses in there, maybe we can use seahorses.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/Vlad - March 10, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. I hope all my peeps are doing well. You are all in luck as I have a special guest with me for our chat. I am pleased to introduce you to one of our senior ambassadors, Hello Mikhail. Hi Vlad, I’m happy to be here. Of course you are Mikhail. Why don’t you start by telling my Vladiators a little about yourself. Sure Vlad. I came to the center about 8 years ago with Viktor and Maksa. Originally only the two were coming but when management was informed that I didn’t have a home they decided to bring me over as well. You lucked out Mikhail. Yes Vlad, that is an understatement. Now Mikhail, you have a reputation around here for being friendly with all the other animals. That is true Vlad. You see my attitude is you don’t start nothin’ there won’t be nothin’. I hung out with our little apex predator New Guinea Singing Dogs, Nicky and Stumpy when they were just puppies. I also played with everyone’s favorite dorkwolf when he got here. The list goes on. I was the welcome wagon for Vinnie and Libby as well as your group Vlad, the Novosibirsk nine. I remember that well Mikhail, It was great that you were so nice to us from day one. I am happy to have helped you guys feel at home Vlad. I’m just so grateful to have ended up at JABCECC that I just want to “pay it forward”. That is a great attitude Mikhail…it is sometimes hard for me to be so positive. After all I am such an exceptional fox that demands so much of himself. Well Vlad, I would say humility can go a long way, also always look on the bright side. If a bird 💩s on your head, just be thankful elephants don’t fly. Mikhail are you suggesting I’m not humble, cause that’s what it sounds like and I am exceptional at being humble. Vlad…doth protest to much methinks…but seriously I need to get going, I promised Dimitri I would hang out with him for a bit. Ok, Mikhail. Thank you for your time.
Before I sign off Yuri requested I let everyone know he is still recruiting for his fan club, the Yurethras. So far the only interest was from the Mississippi chamber of commerce. They want to use the slogan, “Yuri..He puts the pee in Mississippi”.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/Vlad - February 24, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Well, we have had our first significant snow at the center. Being canids with thick coats we are all very well equipt for dealing with the cold. Some of us however are a bit constitutionally weak and have become soft and what one could call a prima donna. I not gonna mention any names but if anyone would guess that it was Viktor, I would not be able to say you were wrong.
Last year we were all very exited for Freddy Snowball to see his first snow. I mean being an Arctic Fox we all thought he would feel right at home in the snow. Boy, were we all surprised when he took one step outside of his house and as soon as his foot touched the ground turned around, headed back inside and said wake me come spring time. Since that time Freddy has gotten in touch with his inner Arctic Fox and now he really enjoys the snow.
Vinnie was born on a fur farm in the upper Midwest so she is no stranger to snow. Predictably, she came out and played for awhile, got annoyed and then headed up on her platform to wait for the sun to come out. Her favorite thing in the world to do is to sun her buns. Unfortunately for her this storm is going to stick around for some time so her buns are going to have to wait.
Lastly, we come to the coyote girls Agnes and Wilson. They had a ball in the snow. They started with a game of catch me, followed by who can eat the most snow in 1 minute and ended with hide and go seek.
So all the ambassadors at JABCECC had a great time and experienced the snow in our own way. We all have very different personalities which is something we really like to show people when we meet them.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/Vlad - February 10, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Well I was supposed to have Vinnie as a guest on our chat today but as it turns out that will not be happening. I went to her enclosure this morning, before the interview, to discuss things we could talk about…you know things like having her tell my Vladiators her favorite thing about me, or perhaps the thing she admires most about me. Instead of welcoming me, as she should have, she just gave me this nasty look and said, “go away Vlad”. Now I am paraphrasing a bit as truthfully Vinnie has a bit of a potty mouth. I would hate to offend my fans who no doubt have outstanding morals and a strong ethical compass. I am not sure where she picked up such “colorful language”, maybe from one of her care givers…but I’ve got to tell you, some of the things that come out of that girl’s mouth would make a longshoreman blush.
We do give Vinnie some slack as before she came to JABCECC she had a hard life. As many of you know, Vinnie was born on a fur farm destined to become a coat or some other equal offensive item. When it was determined that her fur wasn’t “good” enough she was just going to be killed. Thankfully, due to the Vlad and his pals project, which you may know by the highly inaccurate moniker of the Panda and her pals project, Vinnie was rescued from the fur farm with 29 of her friends, and came to live at the center.
You may have noticed she is missing an ear and her tail. This is due to the stress caused by the horrid conditions at the fur farm. Nowadays she spends her time sunning her buns, eating her favorite foods and apparently flashing me “stink eye” when I stop by to include her in the highly coveted role of guest on my chat. Well, her loss.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/Vlad - February 3, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Happy Friday my friends. Unfortunately I can not say it’s a happy day for me. I am still trying to recover from a positively mortifying experience yesterday.
It started when management came into our enclosure to engage in some enrichment. These are activities that are done in order to keep us both physically and mentally in top shape. Some nimrod decided that the enrichment activity would be playing with a flirt pole. For those of you who don’t know, a flirt pole is a long stick with a rope attached. At the end of the rope is a fuzzy blob that is supposed to simulate some kind of rodent. So they hang this blob in my face and it is immediately evident to me that this is not a rodent but in fact polypropylene synthetic fur stuffed with polyester fiber fill. Foxes have a great sense of smell and are wildly clever so I don’t know why they thought this would fool me. If these facts weren’t enough to identify this as a pseudo mouse, it also had a big label on its keister that said “made in China”. I thought, what sort of mook would be fooled by this? Well, it didn’t take long for my question to be answered…. Yuri comes running over, as fast as he can, screaming, at the top of his lungs “ mouse, mouse, mouse !!”. Close behind him were Lena, Sergei and Leika. This surprised me as I always found Lena to be fairly bright. I guess her instincts got the best of her. I did the best I could to get out of the way of this approaching freight train but despite my ninja skills, I got tail whipped in the face. While I was pulling the hair out of my eyes, Lena latched onto the fluff ball and ran my way. Sure enough I got cloth lined by the rope which caused me to face plant in the dirt. Now I had fur in my eyes, dirt up my nose and a rope burn on my neck. I got up and made my way to the safety of higher ground and surveyed the juvenile antics of the others from above.
I wish management would have thought this through better. Perhaps next time just a nice game of chess. Or better yet Stratego…a game about world domination, right up my alley.
#foxes #fridaychat #vlad
Vlad out.