Meet Some of Our Animal Ambassadors

The Heard is thrilled to be home to many wonderful animals. The Animal Encounter Trail Ambassadors live at the Heard because they cannot be released into the wild. Here are their stories. This year, for North Texas Giving Day we are focusing our fundraising efforts on updating and improving their enclosures.

Read below to learn more about a few of our animal ambassadors. Thank you for your consideration and support. Learn more about our North Texas Giving Day project here.

Devon and Elliot: Bobcats

Rescued from a burning brush pile as kittens, these bobcat brothers needed extended care from a wildlife rehabilitator to nurse them back to health. This long recovery period helped them form a special connection with their caregivers. Elliot can be identified by his more red-orange coat and often enjoys old shoes for enrichment. Devon, with a grayer coat, prefers ball pit balls.

Clover and Pine: Striped Skunks

Our two skunks are just over a year old. They were brought together by different rehabbers to be companions. Before coming to the Heard, Pine didn’t receive proper medical care, which made his health concerns worsen. The long-term care required made them both non-releasable. Clover can be identified by the extra white coloration on her tail.

Fuzz, Trio, and Dawn: White-tailed Deer

Our White-tailed deer love fresh leaves. Keepers often gather branches from the sanctuary to enrich their environment. As dusk falls, it’s not uncommon to see our wild herds visiting our deer, creating a beautiful scene of connection between the Heard’s residents and their wild counterparts.

Born in 2009, Fuzz is the eldest of our trio of white-tailed deer. As a young fawn, she imprinted on humans, which has made her especially unique and attuned to her keepers. Fuzz received her endearing name from the granddaughter of a local butcher in the small town where she was rehabilitated; the little girl thought she was “fuzzy,” and the name has stuck ever since.

Born in 2021, Dawn is our youngest doe. The wildlife rehabilitator that worked with Dawn hoped she would be releasable so she was ear-tagged. Dawn required more medical intervention in rehab than expected and then would not leave with the rest of the fawns when it was time to go.

Trio was born in 2010 and lost a foot in rehab while she was a fawn. Trio is a bit more independent and shy than the other two deer and can be identified by her more reddish coat.

Ricky and Harley: Northern Raccoons

Ricki is our female raccoon and Harley is our male, they were both born in 2017 and ended up with a wildlife rehabber. Ricki was kept illegally as a pet when she was young. Harley moved to North Texas when rehab space was needed during Hurricane Harvey. They both enjoy rocks to dip in their water bins and toy cars as enrichment.

Manny, Mountain Coatimundi, and Maya, White-nosed Coatimundi

Maya and Manny were rescued by a local zoo, which has since closed, and then came to the live at the Heard. Coatimundis like to rub scents that they like into their tails. If guests spot shoes or other unusual objects in their enclosure, they are being used for scent enrichment. Guests may sometimes be able to hear them communicating with each other through squeaks, grunts, and growls.

Nibbles: Patagonian Cavy

Nibbles was born in 2009 and is possibly the oldest Cavy known. He was surrendered to us from the pet trade and has been with us for most of his long life.  Nibbles can be heard purring very loudly when eating his favorite foods. Some other vocalizations guests may hear from him are squealing like a guinea pig, chirping, whistling, and chittering.

Nikita : Gray Fox

Based on her behavior, we believe Kita was once illegally kept as a pet. She approached residents of a small community in summer 2021. When the game warden sat down to look at her, she approached him without fear. He immediately designated her as imprinted and non-releasable. Nikita’s favorite enrichment right now is beef bones.