Here is a new photo of Little Fuzz. She is still small and a bit bristly, compared to the bigger, sleeker siblings. Her feisty nature keeps the other siblings from completely mauling her during their rough play. Play means stalking one another. Play includes attacks with various strategies like grabbing another's throat and throwing the opponent onto its back and shaking it. Play is vigorous and would look vicious, if the kits weren't so inept and cute. Play, of course, is preparation for survival and these instincts are becoming stronger by the day.
I have stopped feeding the puppies because it looks like dad is doing a great job. I also noticed that they began to expect food from a human and I did not what that habit to become any stronger. Anyway, since mom was killed on May 27th, they have consumed half a smallish bag of dog food and 50 mice, along with whatever dad could catch for them.
I wish I could let the kits into the veggie garden to learn to catch gophers. The gophers are biting the roots off of anything that does not have a wire basket buried around it. That means my pea plants are disappearing one by one. However, the kits terrorize my plants and I cannot let them into the vegetables.
Here is a photo of Little Fuzz taken yesterday morning. Also, I include an image of dad with a pup.
Erica
No comments:
Post a Comment