21.1.2023 by Ralph Morton
A stretch of milder but wet weather encouraged me to visit the Yorkshire Wildlife Park (YWP) between 9 and 11 January.
The main reason for my visit was to see the Maned Wolf cubs while they were still small.
The parents live on a specially designed enclosure with a nice warm house to live in as well as a wooded area to hide in. There is also a pool for them to swim in. The picture shows the enclosure.
A rather blurry photo from my phone shows that the Maned Wolf is quite big. However they are very shy so the Rangers can enter their enclosure without any problems.
I did get to see the five cubs on Monday morning. The parents hide them in the undergrowth of the wooded area . When a Ranger brought some food the cubs appeared briefly and ran all over the place.
Photographs of the cubs are on Facebook and they are growing fast so I am sure Pat, Philip or Sheila will bring you some photos soon.
After seeing the cubs it was time to visit a larger cub at Project Polar 2. Tala was inside the Exercise Area of the den while mum Flocke was outside.
Flocke is a distinctive looking bear who has longer fur then her daughter and is usually pacing around waiting for food.
After a long walk past the Giraffe, Tigers, Okapi and Giant Otters (all too faraway for my phone cam) I arrived at Project Polar 1 where Stephen King was hard at work photoing the bears. It was good to catch up with him about what was going on.
Indie and Yuma have grown so much that in these pictures it is hard to tell them apart from Nobby. Fans of Nobby know he is usually the muddiest. The gulls were also joining in the feeding.
10. Next door Hamish was trying to get the attention of the Rangers. Sisu was inside taking a rest in the den. Sisu tends to get roped in to play with the others and was getting a well earned rest. Hamish was missing him.
Luka and Hamish were also given food. As the two biggest Bears they tend now to share the same enclosure. Hamish still plays a bit rough as does Indie whereas Yuma, Nobby and Sisu prefer it gentler.
On my way back to the entrance and my welcome first night in the hotel I passed the Polar Bear who with other animals have featured in the Christmas illumination evenings at YWP. A bigger version of the Red Panda was also there.
The first day at YWP had gone all too quickly but it had been well worth the long journey from Oxford. I was soon settling down for the evening in a comfortable room at the Hex Hotel.
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