Wildlife festival features chuck wagon dinner, Western swing music
Wildlife festival features chuck wagon dinner, Western swing music
Come and meet Wildlife West Nature Park’s adorable tenants during its Wildlife Festival on Saturday, June 30.
New tenant Bob the bobcat is enjoying his new digs but has not quite warmed up to fellow bobcat Spark.
“Bob is a young bobcat that got socialized to people,” said Roger Alink, founder and director of Wildlife West Nature Park. “He is very friendly. He is really cute. He is less than a year old now. (Bob and Spark) don’t get along too well, so we separate them on different sides of the habitat. It’s OK; they have plenty of space. Spark was socialized. She was an illegal pet. Spark is friendly to our staff. They go in and play with him. Spark is pretty amazing unless she’s eating; then she gets a little defensive. Spark is a female, and Bob is a male. They aren’t that good of friends.”
Attendees can view four orphaned baby gray foxes that came to the park last summer. Their mother drowned in a tank on a construction site where the young foxes were found.
“The foxes are still very adorable, and they’re tree climbers and pretty much hang out in the trees and lay on top of each other like little friends,” Alink said. “They are so cute. They’ve grown a little bit, and they are still tiny and as cute as can be. They’re probably about almost a year old. In their habitat, there is a juniper tree in there; they can climb and hang out on the branches. There are two sides of the habitat. One side has more room where they can run around, or they can hang out in the tall tree.”
Eventgoers can watch a screening of “Phoenix Wilder and the Great Elephant Adventure,” about a lost orphan boy and an elephant who team up to take down poachers in Africa. Also learn how the fastest bird of prey survives in the wild and about other raptors from falcon expert Tom Smylie. The New Mexico Herpetological Society will showcase its fascinating reptiles, and there will be representatives from other environmental organizations on hand, Alink said.
Saturday is the first chuck wagon of the season. It will feature a barbecue dinner, which includes beef, chicken, a baked potato and beans, as well as cookies, lemonade and coffee. A vegetarian option is available. The Watermelon Jug Band will provide entertainment. The chuck wagon supper shows will be held every other week on Saturdays through Sept. 1.
Proceeds benefit the park and its animals. The park has an all volunteer staff that cares for the animals brought to the park.
“We don’t take anything from the public so all these animals have to go through a rescue center or (New Mexico Department of) Game and Fish or (the United States Fish and Wildlife Service). They have to be determined to be non-releasable. If they become too socialized or too injured or too incapacitated to be in the open, they are candidates for us to adopt.”