This year we had a surprise from a pair of our birds. The halfmoon conures, Ivy & Ki, don't travel and go to shows but they live with the rest of the flock here at Animal Wonders. They have lived with us since 2007 and this year they decided they wanted a family! Ivy laid 5 eggs, and 4 hatched out of their tiny little shells. They have spent the last 6 weeks growing feathers and learning how to use their strong feet to perch. Watching animals grow from day one always amazes me. They came into this world naked, blind, and utterly helpless and in just a few weeks they are ready to take on the world!

It poured this morning and then it really started coming down! Luckily everyone at Animal Wonders (besides the horses) are housed indoors and are riding out the storm in comfort. Seraphina is still living in the house because she's in Quarantine for 30 days and also, she is only 8 1/2 weeks old. But she gets to spend some time in the Dirt room enclosure and she loves to dig!!

I guess in all the hubbub I never formally introduced Pepper, the Patagonian Cavy! Pepper was donated to Animal Wonders by Roos N More Zoo in Moapa, NV. The same facility that donated Tango in 2009. Roos N More has been a priceless supporter of Animal Wonders for years and when Tango unexpectedly passed away they felt the heartbreak that Augusto and I felt. A little over a month later they had a surprise when they check the Cavy enclosure in the morning, a baby boy! They we so happy to contact us to tell us they would love to send the baby boy to Animal Wonders to help heal the loss of Tango. We accepted and Pepper was on his way! We are so fortunate to have Pepper and to have Roos N More as a friend and supporter. So, thank you Val, Jay, and LynnLee from Roos N More and welcome home Pepper!!

This is Pepper's first trip outside on his harness and leash. He's so confident and curious that he hardly seems like a cavy at all! We hope that he keeps this confidence while he grows and

Bowling For Animals 2011 was a great success!! This was Animal Wonders' first fundraiser and we were so happy with everything!! We had some great old friends and were excited to meet some new friends as well!! The evening began with a visit from Curly, the white-cheeked turaco, as people checked in, got their T-shirts, bowling shoes and made their way to their lanes. Then the red fox kit made her visits as she rounded up the guests to vote on her name. As they ventured into the banquet room they stopped to peruse and bid on the silent auction items that were irresistible! Once they put their vote in for the fox's name they put in their raffle tickets for their favorite animal painting, animal photograph, or feather earrings. On their way back to bowling they stopped in for a free hot dog, courtesy of Westside Lanes. Pepper, the Patagonian cavy said hello as the bowling continued, and Sherman, the hedgehog announced the closing of the silent auction and other games. Everyone gathered together to hear the winners of the raffle items, the 50/50 quill guess, and especially to hear what the red fox's name would be. The votes came in and the winning name was.... Seraphina!! Seraphina means "fiery one" and is very fitting because she has a fiery personality and she's beginning to turn a beautiful red color.

We want to send out a heartfelt THANK YOU to all of those that made it and/or supported Animal Wonders at the event. We will most definitely be making this an annual fundraiser so watch out for next year's Bowling For Animals 2011!  Seraphina has just drifted off to sleep and the birds are quite hungry so I'm off to get them some dinner! Again, thank you to all of those who made this such a success!!!

As Bowling For Animals draws near, we have been putting out the word to all our press contacts and also local community contacts as well. We've had a great response and hope to have a good turnout for our first fundraiser. This week we were written up in two newspapers. The Seeley Lake Pathfinder, by Caroline Jenkins, and the Missoulian (click on link to view article). Both articles were very positive and both advertised for Bowling For Animals. Caroline has become a great contact and friend and we hope to see more of her as we visit the Seeley Lake schools and community. The Missoulian will hopefully hit a larger audience and get the word out about Animal Wonders. Our hope is that we can get into lower income schools by raising funds at Bowling For Animals, having private donors "sponsor" the schools, and/or get grants to cover the costs. The teachers just don't have enough money to get any higher or supplemental education. Hopefully by getting a bit of press we can reach a larger audience and make our hopes come true!

We are so very excited to announce the arrival of our red fox kit. She is settling in very nicely and we have already begun the training. Red foxes can be very skiddish animals and care must be taken when they are young to introduce them to many people, places, and things so they are not afraid of them when they become an adult. This little vixen is a little shy for about two seconds and then become confident and curious. She has already learned that nail trimming is a breeze, and ear, nose, teeth, and eye inspections are just like being cuddled. She is now wearing a harness and in the following days she will learn how to walk on a leash. Learning all of these things now will help her stay healthy and safe in the future. Over the next few weeks and months she will be exposed to many different stimuli to desensitize her to new environments so she will be calm and comfortable as an Animal Ambassador. She is already focused on humans as a source of companionship and seeks out our attention. As I type this she is stretched out on my lap. Now remember that foxes are not domestic pets, they will not act like a dog or a cat when they become an adult. When they are young they are very cute and cuddly, but as they mature they will become "wild". We understand the nature of non-domestic animals and have had training and experience working with exotic animals. Please don't think that a fox would make a good pet. If you want a cute pet please look into rescuing a dog or cat from an animal rescue, they are the ones that need human love and attention. This red fox kit will become an ambassador for her species and teach about predators, omnivores, native and invasive species, conservation, and last but not least, the reality of fur farms.

We have not decided on a name for her yet. If you would like to suggest a name please visit our Facebook page and post it there. We will be voting on her name at our fundraiser, Bowling For Animals, on May 18th!

We have been non-stop busy here at Animal Wonders! Plenty of presentations are filling up the last few months and are scheduled into the coming months. We are mostly focused on the month of May and our coming fundraiser "Bowling For Animals". We are very excited to be sharing our organization with the community and hope that everyone has a fun time bowling, visiting, bidding, and seeing the animals. We will be debuting a few new Animal Ambassadors at the event!! So don't miss out! Stay tuned for news about the new animals coming to live at Animal Wonders.