Ginger Wolf Looks Like Red Fox on Stilts

A five-year old wolf is the toast of a wildlife park in Cambridge, UK because of it's incredible ginger coat.

The rare creature, named Ruby, resembles a giant fox thanks to her bright red hair and is causing quite the storm at her home in Hertfordshire.

Visitors to her enclosure at Shepreth Wildlife Park are left as shocked as the other animals who sport the common grey and white coat.

Photos courtesy: MailOnline

Zoo manager, Haley Kelly, said: "When people see Ruby the first time they say "what on earth is that." I was the same."

"She is a beautiful specimen but doesn't look like a wolf. She's compared to a large fox or dingo.

"A normal grey wolf would never have met a maned wolf before. It would be quite a shock for both of them if they ever came face to face."

Dubbed by animal-lovers as the "Red Fox on Stilts", Ruby's species of maned wolf come from the grasslands of South America.


Zoo keepers introduced the red-coated wolf to visitors this week, replacing two tradition-coloured grey wolves.

Ruby joined the zoo after being shunned by her pack at Banham Zoo, near Diss, in Norfolk.

Mrs. Kelly added: 'She has been very quiet and staying at the back of her enclosure.

"But she will hopefully come out of her shell soon. Her previous keeper described Ruby as extremely playful."

She replaces the grey wolves Odin and Iskha, both of whom died earlier this year.

The maned wolf, whose closest living relative is the bush dog, is found in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru.

Ruby has arrived as part of the European Endangered Species programme and zoo keepers plan to introduce her to a mate later this year.

Via MailOnline