Richmond Wildlife Center Staff Act as Fox Mothers to Care for Orphaned Kit

The Richmond Wildlife Center is making dedicated efforts to care for an orphaned fox kit, emulating the role of mother foxes in nurturing the young animal. Executive Director Melissa Stanley, in a video posted on the center’s Facebook page, is seen wearing a red fox mask and using rubber gloves to feed the tiny kit from a syringe. The kit rests on top of a large stuffed animal fox, designed to resemble her mother, as explained by Stanley.

Precautionary Measures for Reintroduction into the Wild

The center's staff has taken various precautionary measures, including wearing masks to minimize human sounds, creating visual barriers and other necessary steps to ensure that the orphaned fox does not become imprinted upon or habituated to humans. These measures are crucial in increasing the likelihood of successful reintroduction into the wild in the future, as emphasized in the Facebook post.

Rescue and Care

The fox kit was admitted to the center on Feb. 29 after being found by a man in an alley in Richmond, mistakenly believed to be a kitten. The kit was less than 24 hours old, and its umbilical stump was still attached when it was turned over to the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Efforts to locate the kit's mother and den site were made, but despite finding the den site, it was discovered that the foxes had been trapped and removed. It is suspected that the fox kit either fell out of a trap or off the back of the trapper's truck. Subsequently, the wildlife center staff has been taking turns feeding the kit every two to four hours, all while wearing the fox mask.

Rehabilitation and Release

Notably, the Wildlife Center immediately began searching for other red fox kits of similar age and weight within the rehabilitation community. Three other kits were located in a rehabilitation setting in northern Virginia. The plan is to transfer the fox kit to the Animal Education and Rescue Organization, which aims to release the kits back into the wild together, ultimately contributing to the preservation of the wildlife population. This initiative aligns with the goal of recognizing their own species and ensuring successful reproduction for the continuity of wildlife populations, as stated by Stanley.