She’s gonna be a star!
Critter Profile: Yvette!
Overview!
Little Yvette wrapping her ghostly arms around her favorite toy.
Name: Yvette
Species: Ignis fatuus fifollet (Louisiana Feu-Follet)
Primary Caretaker: Elizabeth Moritz, Spectrobiologist
Diet: Kindling, Candle Wax, Kerosene (all in moderation of course)
Housed: Wilson's Wildlife Center, Wetlands Habitat Enclosure
Creature Features!
Yvette is a special critter who hails from way down south. Specifically, she’s a fiery little feu-follet from Manchac Swamp, located just outside the wonderful and magical city of New Orleans. Now, for those of you not in the know, the Louisiana feu-follet is a type of spirit that’s actually a subspecies of the apparition we all know as the good old will-o’-the-wisp (Ignis fatuus fatuus).
Like the will-o’-the-wisp, the feu-follet is typically found at night, floating in the musty air of southern swamps and wetlands. They can be mischievous little devils, playing all kinds of pranks on the hapless fools who wander into their territory. Yvette herself is no exception, and the trouble she can cause definitely keeps the rest of us on our toes!
Yvette’s old stomping grounds in Manchac Swamp.
But what truly sets Yvette apart from other wisps is her singing! Just let her wrap herself around her favorite toy and off she’ll go. She’s got what can only be described as the voice of an angel! We don’t know what it is about that toy — it’s a ball that, to us, just looks like a bundle of cheesecloth wrapped in a bunch of string — but Yvette refuses to sing unless she’s warmly snuggled around it. Thankfully, the ball itself doesn’t seem to burn, but it does produce this vibrantly colored smoke as she sings. Talk about a multi-sensory experience!
And it’s not just us humans who love it, but our animals too. Put them in front of Yvette during a performance and it won’t be long before they start moving and dancing to the music. In fact, we’ve started taking Yvette on little “tours” of our different enclosures. Just a few days ago, we brought her to our aquarium wing, and the reception she got from our marine friends made her look like quite the star! For whatever reason, the echinoderms were especially enraptured, even Hollis, who’s normally the aquarium’s resident grump.
Hollis can barely contain his excitement during Yvette’s aquarium show!
History!
Yvette first came to our attention when we received a phone call from a friendly reverend down south by the name of Horace. Truth be told, we could probably only understand about half of what he was saying, but the gist of it was this: a good friend of his, one Ms. Étoile, a prolific world traveler and “collector of curiosities” needed our help. You see, she originally met Yvette while attending to some business in this quaint little town called Frenier in the swamps right outside New Orleans. The two hit it off almost immediately! Ms. Étoile eventually took her in, and Yvette happily lived at her home for a number of years.
Unfortunately, as Reverend Horace explained, Ms. Étoile was now having to leave on an extended expedition and as such was no longer able to look after Yvette. She was struggling to find someone who would take her in when the good reverend happened to stumble onto our “frog footage”1 and realized we’d be the perfect fit! Of course, we were all more than happy to help them out.
A few days later, some of the reverend’s church friends showed up with little Yvette and her toy, and the moment we laid eyes on her, we were totally under her spell! Yvette’s been thriving here ever since, and we’ve been thrilled to have her as part of the Wilson’s family!
Special Needs and Accommodations!
While Yvette likes to rest during the day, the night is her time to shine — literally! If you’re out exploring our wetlands habitat after dusk, you might catch a glimpse of torchlight in the distance. But think twice before you approach; it could be our little prankster hoping to lure you into a patch of mud or even into one of our snake enclosures!2 When she’s in a more peaceful mood, however, you’ll often find her floating gently through the trees, casting an ethereal blue glow on her surroundings.
Feeding is actually easier than you may think; just treat her how you would a campfire! Yvette will happily chow down on any dry tinder or kindling you give her, and if she’s been on her best behavior, we’ll happily treat her to some candle wax or maybe even some kerosene. Just make sure you’re careful with your portion sizes, or you might be dealing with some explosive consequences!
Now, we’re aware that wisps aren’t exactly part of the kingdom Animalia, but at the end of the day, a critter’s still a critter, and this one was in need of a home. Thankfully, we’ve been able to rely on the expertise of our new hire Elizabeth Moritz, who recently graduated from Deer College with a degree in Spectrobiology! She’s been an outstanding addition to the team, making sure we’re plenty equipped to meet all of Yvette’s unique needs!
Notes about Yvette!
Yvette’s music has been such a hit that we recently decided to hold a sort of mini-concert for friends and family of our Wilson’s team (and of course, our more personable critters were also invited). The whole event was a blast. We had games and food and a petting zoo — which all helped get the guests riled up for the star attraction. And when the curtain finally rose, everyone was so charmed by Yvette’s performance. In fact, by the time we got to the closing number, a whole bunch of our attendees — human and animal alike — couldn’t help singing along! And that colorful smoke added this magical atmosphere that I don’t think our guests will be forgetting any time soon.
We’ve already been getting requests to hold another concert again some time in the future. Of course, Yvette’s wellbeing always comes first, but we’d definitely consider doing it again at some point if it seems she’s feeling up for it. Be sure to keep an eye on our newsletter for updates on when our little superstar might be performing again!
Written by: Elizabeth Moritz
Recipient(s): Faeowynn Wilson
Date: 08/14/2025
Faeowynn,
Hi, it’s Elizabeth. I just wanted to reach out about some… concerns, I guess, about the Wetlands Habitat Enclosure. Basically, I was doing my morning rounds a little while ago, and— well, I’m not exactly sure how to describe it. The animals all seemed kinda… off? Like, they were much more mellow, but not in a relaxed way, but more like the light in their eyes had sort of gone out just a little. They were all very lethargic and didn’t really seem to completely acknowledge I was there. It just felt really weird.
Sorry, I’m not sure I’m making any sense. For all I know, it could just be a down day for everyone. Worst case, there might be some flu or something going around. Still, I just thought you should know.
Oh, and don’t worry, Yvette still looked okay. She was fast asleep when I checked on her, but I’ll take another look at how she’s doing this afternoon.
Written by: Elizabeth Moritz
Recipient(s): Faeowynn Wilson
Date: 08/14/2025
Faeowynn,
Okay, a quick update. I ran into Tony and Barb in the Wetlands Enclosure during afternoon rounds, and they— well, something was off with them too. They were kind of out of it in the same way as the animals. Just very slow to respond and speaking in a flat monotone. I know it might make me sound paranoid, but it honestly kind of freaked me out a little. I don’t know, you think we should talk to the Supervisors about this? In case it’s like, an anomalous virus or something?
On the bright side, Yvette still looked fine when I checked on her — still peacefully sleeping the day away. Whatever this is, it must not affect wisps. That’s what I’m hoping, at least.
In any case, I’ll check on her again tonight once she’s awake.
Written by: Elizabeth Moritz
Recipient(s): Faeowynn Wilson
Date: 08/15/2025
Faeowynn, we have a situation.
Just got back from the Wetlands Enclosure. Figured I’d check on Yvette now that the sun was down, but had a devil of a time finding her. On top of that, the animals were even weirder than before. Just kind of wandering aimlessly, as if they didn’t quite know where they were going. Even ran into Tony and Barb again, just kind of sitting on a log, staring off into nothing. Creeped me out so bad I didn’t even stop to stay hello; I just sort of quietly kept moving.
I don’t know how long I was searching for Yvette — I was getting really worried that she might have gotten loose somehow or that this thing spreading around to everyone had reached her too. But then I heard her off in the distance, in that wooded area to the north. Singing just as serenely as ever. I remember breathing a sigh of relief as I started walking in her direction. But as I got closer, I started hearing the other voices.
It was like that concert again. Animals hooting and howling and chirping and barking along with the music. And then I heard human voices joining in — immediately, I recognized it was Tony and Barb. They all sounded so upbeat and full of life; it was like a complete 180 from what I’d seen earlier today.
But then I remembered where I last saw Barb and Tony, and how long ago that was. There was no way they’d be able to get here before me without me noticing, right?
Things weren’t adding up, so I slowed my pace to a crawl as I got closer and closer to the voices. Finally, I could see light ahead of me as I approached a clearing. In the middle of the space was a bonfire, burning brightly and producing this giant plume of the most vividly colored smoke I’d ever seen in my life. And floating in a big circle around the bonfire was little Yvette, her arms wrapped tightly around that ball, as she sang her heart out, accompanied by that massive choir of humans and animals.
Only…
There wasn’t anyone else there. No Tony. No Barb. No critters. It was just Yvette and that fire and all that smoke. Peering from behind a tree, I watched the scene in front of me, trying to wrap my head around it all. Where were these voices coming from?
And then my eyes settled on that plume and I noticed something. That smoke, it was gently waving from side to side to the beat of Yvette’s song. That sight was what finally made me realize something — something that caused me to bolt out of there and back to the office as quick as I could.
The voices I was hearing, the voices of our coworkers and animal friends, they were coming from the smoke. It was the smoke itself that was singing along.
Faeowynn, in all the time that we’ve had Yvette, I’m not sure she was ever the one who was actually singing.
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