Inoli

09/27/15

It is with great sadness that we said goodbye to our three-legged crab eating Brazilian fox, Inoli. He outlived his life expectancy by four years. He passed easily in his sleep, and we will never forget him. You were a wonderful boy, Inoli, and we’ll remember you forever.

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The name In-o-li is Cherokee for “black fox.”   Our Inoli is a Brazilian Crab Eating Fox who came to us at the end of April 2003. He was illegally owned by a man who worked in two pet stores & was not licensed to own a fox in Florida. The man was arrested and a co-worker at the pet store took care of the fox until they could locate a new home for him.

He arrived four days after we were first contacted so we quickly constructed his habitat.   While not large by our standards, it must have seemed like the Ritz to little Inoli who had spent his life up until that point living in a large dog kennel at the pet store with only a smaller kennel inside as his “den”.

Crab Eating Foxes do not reproduce as readily as other foxes and are endangered in their native environments in South America. Fortunately, they will eat more than just crabs, and Inoli’s meals typically consist of fresh chicken, beef, fish fruits, veggies and cottage cheese.

In 2007 Inoli accidentally lost one of his forelegs. He is fine, though, and gets along very well on three legs. He is a sweet boy who loves to play with George, a Catahula Leopard Dog belonging to one of our volunteers. When George is near Inoli’s enclosure, Inoli will come to the fence and lay on his back coaxing George to play with him.