In Japan, red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) play a prominent role in captive wildlife tourism, where visitors have the opportunity to interact with these animals at various zoos and private attractions. Red foxes are typically seen as solitary creatures, yet this perception might not fully reflect their social behaviours, especially in captivity. In her chapter, Émilie Crossley explores the social lives of red foxes in these settings, using a multispecies storytelling approach to highlight their complex interactions with both fellow foxes and humans.
The Study: Multispecies Ethnography in Captivity
Crossley's research, presented in the book Emerging Voices for Animals in Tourism, centres on the subjective experiences of red foxes in four tourist destinations in Japan—two public zoos and two private wildlife attractions. Through multispecies ethnography, which combines storytelling with scientific observation, she seeks to delve into the foxes' social worlds, offering a unique lens on their interactions. This approach not only brings forward the often-overlooked perspectives of animals but also challenges traditional ideas of wildlife as passive objects of tourism.
By focusing on the foxes' individuality and social behaviours, Crossley presents the red foxes as active participants in their environments. The use of storytelling serves to emphasise the emotional and social complexity of these animals, countering the common belief that red foxes are strictly solitary.
Red Fox Sociality: Beyond Solitude
Red foxes are generally considered solitary in the wild, engaging in limited social interactions outside of mating and raising offspring. However, Crossley’s study reveals that in captivity, foxes may form more intricate social relationships, suggesting that they can benefit from companionship. Whether through playful interactions, grooming, or simply cohabitating in shared spaces, these captive foxes demonstrate a capacity for social bonding.
This discovery is important, as it highlights how captivity can alter an animal's typical social behaviours. While being solitary might be adaptive for wild red foxes, the structured environments of zoos and wildlife parks may create conditions where companionship becomes beneficial, or even necessary, for mental and physical well-being.
Implications for Captive Wildlife Tourism
The findings from this study have broader implications for how red foxes and other animals are managed in captive tourism settings. If foxes can thrive in social environments, there is a need to reconsider how they are housed, cared for, and displayed to tourists. By understanding their social needs, wildlife tourism operators can create more enriching environments that cater to the foxes’ well-being, potentially improving both the welfare of the animals and the educational experience for visitors.
Moreover, Crossley's research responds to broader calls for a more inclusive and multidisciplinary approach to animal-related tourism. By incorporating taxonomic, epistemological, and methodological diversity into her work, she pushes for an understanding of animals that goes beyond mere observation. The multispecies storytelling method allows her to capture the foxes' individuality, providing a more complete and empathetic portrayal of their lives in captivity.
Engaging with the More-Than-Human Social
Multispecies storytelling is a central element of this research, allowing Crossley to engage with the social lives of animals in a way that traditional research methods often overlook. This approach seeks to understand animals as social beings with their own perspectives, rather than as objects within a human-centred world. It provides a richer narrative of how animals, like red foxes, interact with both conspecifics and humans in the context of captivity.
Through this method, the study challenges the dominant narrative in animal tourism, which often focuses on human enjoyment and animal display, rather than the subjective experiences of the animals themselves. By bringing the animals’ stories to the forefront, Crossley adds a layer of depth to our understanding of how animals navigate their interactions in human-controlled environments.
Summary
Émilie Crossley’s chapter on red fox sociality in Japanese captive wildlife tourism offers a refreshing perspective on the social lives of animals traditionally viewed as solitary. By using multispecies storytelling, she brings the individual experiences and social behaviours of captive foxes to light, showing that these animals are far more socially complex than often assumed. This research not only challenges the solitary stereotype of red foxes but also has important implications for how they are cared for in tourism settings, advocating for environments that support their social well-being.
As interest in the social and psychological lives of animals continues to grow, Crossley's work encourages us to rethink how we engage with animals in tourism, pushing for more ethical, empathetic, and scientifically informed approaches to wildlife management.
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