Natural enemies Feather the wolf grooms fawn. Photo by James Orr

I heard a lot of commotion downstairs to discover Siegfried our full grown goat had chased Feather our full grown wolf through the dog door into the house.  As I listened to the crashing around downstairs I knew Feather was trying to find a shortcut to the door to avoid a head butt from Siegfried.   I had neglected to tell them  they have their roles mixed up with the goat chasing the wolf. 

When they are outside it is funny to watch them play together.  Feather dares the goat to chase her by stepping cautiously into Siegfried's space challenging him to a game.  The large goat pretends he doesn’t see her then suddenly charges and the chase is on.

The wolf is faster and can generally side step the charging goat and then initiate a new game.  The goat meantime has learned that Feather has to slow down to fit through the dog door intended for smaller dogs and often gets a parting butt (figuratively and literally) as the wolf retreats to the safety of the house.

As I listened to the chaos downstairs I tried to fathom how a very wide goat ever fit through a very narrow dog door.  Before I had a chance to investigate and try to save the furniture it became obvious the game had moved outdoors again as I saw the goat run full speed past my window. 

The wolf apparently had a tag team arrangement with “Dish” the tiny Chihuahua who was now chasing the goat.  Somehow the little  dog has convinced all the animals he is a ferocious killer and no one bothered to tell him he only weighs 4 pounds. 

Feather is not allowed to chase other animals as it could trigger the wolf hunt instinct which would not be much fun for whoever she caught up to.  When the other animals run and chase each other she has been trained to keep her actions in low gear and trots along with them taking up the rear as a spectator.

The two deer that live here grew up with the wolf.  She even helped groom them when they were babies.  We decided to instigate the “NO CHASE WOLF RULE” after watching a warp speed game between them several months ago.  Deer and wolves are two of the fastest animals in North America and although our residents are friends it was obvious the speed with which they run together could easily result in injury with one missed step.

I should clarify that these unnatural games between supposed natural enemies is limited to our non releasable permanent residents.  We are required to keep the rehabilitation animals apart from natural enemies.  They even have screens in addition to the fences so that they cannot see each other.  It would be a tremendous disservice to release an animal into the wild that did not have the appropriate fear and instincts to run from predators.

Getting back to the Goat games, the Chihuahua’s bluff was called when he inadvertently cornered the goat on the deck.  When Siegfried turned to face him, the Chihuahua  suddenly grasped the fact he was outweighed 30 to one.  His ferocious pursuit yap and growl evaporated into a high pitched yelp as he reversed direction and ran for his life.  No fear, Feather was standing by and resumed the role of the chasee .

If there is a moral in all this it is to remember that a running animal or person may trigger a pursuit instinct in wild animals and domestic dogs for that matter that might not otherwise occur.  Running can away can be the worst defense in many cases.

There is an old joke about two hunters after a lion who discover they forgot their ammunition.  The lion sensing their fear starts to stalk them.  One hunter opens his pack, gets out his track shoes and quickly puts them on.  “What are you doing?” says the second hunter, “You cannot out run a lion”.   The first hunter replies, “I only have to outrun you”

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