Page 14 - Sentinel May 2018

SOCIAL COMMITTEE Continued from page 12 The Red Fox is one of my favorite animals to rehab because they
are so incredibly playful, inquisitive and alert. I’m sure you re-
During the introductory meeting in late February, a number of member what they look like, but to refresh your memories they
new social activity ideas were suggested, and time was spent are slender, dog-like mammals with sharp-pointed muzzles, and
compiling a survey for all Perry Park Ranch residents to com- long bushy white-tipped tails. Normally – anywhere other than
plete. The agenda for April 8 included narrowing down the list here in our local area – they’d come in only three color phases,
so that the survey can be ready to go out to residents soon. If red, cross, and silver, with the red being most common in the
you are a resident of Perry Park Ranch and have not yet regis- wild. All color variations of the Red fox have a white tipped
tered an email address on the Perry Park Metro District website tail; both the Swift fox and the Gray Fox have black tipped tails.
(www.perrypark.org), you may want to do so. This will guar- Swift Foxes are much smaller than Gray Foxes. Red Foxes are
antee that you will receive the survey. The committee wants to the biggest of the three types.
make sure that everyone’s voice is heard so that we plan activi-
ties that hold a high level of interest for lots of residents.
I’ve said that we have three common color phases of Red fox-
es, but because of the historical cross breeding that occurred
Walt Korinke, a former PPMD board member and a current around here, we see foxes in all shades and colors. To clutter
member of the Social Committee, presented information about the color schemes up even more, there are melanistic foxes that
the 2018 Fourth of July celebration, outlining what the PPMD are a version of the silver fox but lacking the silvery hair tips.
will be responsible for and what the Social Committee will take That means its skin has a high concentration of melanin, or dark
on as responsibilities. We discussed including other activities pigment, which causes its black coloring. Whew! With me so
for kids following the morning parade, and several members far?
will be working on making that happen. Many volunteers are
needed to make the parade a success! If you are a resident and What you may not know is that this area of the Front Range
are interested in volunteering, please contact Debra Vincent at held more than a few fox fur farms back in the day.
stessmers@gmail.com
In about 1928, near Larkspur on Fox Farm Road, there was a
The committee is planning to have an Art/Craft sale after the fur farm named the Lincoln Fur farm, one of many in the area.
parade. We hope to attract local people who would like to be a This farm raised Silver, Blue and Pearltina breeds of foxes for
part of the sale. Best of all, it is free to all vendors! If you are an their much in-demand pelts. When pure black colored fox were
artist or crafter who is interested, please contact Bob Zettler at born, they were released from the farm since their pelts were of
bobcatcarving@gmail.com. Our hope is that even if we start no value. Presumably they bred with other wild foxes. When
with a small group of vendors this year, it will continue to grow the United States Government removed restrictions on the im-
from year to year.
port of Russian furs in 1951, the demand for locally raised furs
began to subside. Many of these unwanted foxes were released
If you are interested in joining the Social Committee, please into our local area to breed with the already existing popula-
contact either Debra stessmers@gmail.com or Todd todd. tion.
mccusker@gmail.com.

The more, the merrier! Many hands make light work!

LET’S TALK ABOUT VULPES!
Sarah Heckathorn, CVT...
Colorado Licensed Rehabilitator
719-440-4476

If this is the first time you’ve seen that word, it’s the genus for
the fox family. Here in our part of Colorado, we have three
types of foxes.

If you’ve lived here for any amount of time you’ve probably
seen our ubiquitous Red Fox, the Vulpes Vulpes. Maybe you’ve
seen also seen our more uncommon Swift Fox, the Vulpes Ve- Okay - back to the basics. The Red Fox breeds in the winter
lox? And perhaps you’ve seen another fox also in the Cani- months and gives birth in March or April. The litter size is usu-
nae family, yet a different classification altogether – the Com- ally four or five but has been reported as high as 17!! Can you
mon Gray Fox, the Urocyon Cinereoargenteus? (Say THAT imagine?! Poor Mom! Those larger sized litters are usually
fast three times!!) There are 12 types of species of fox in the associated with high mortality areas. On a side note: The litters
“vulpes” genus, but I’ll concentrate on the three I’ve just men- I’m seeing come into rehab are large – eight and nine kits, prob-
tioned.
Continued on page 15
Page 14 - May 2018 Perry Park Sentinel