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Staff at a Virginia wildlife center pretend to be red foxes as they care for an orphaned kit

The costume makes it more likely the fox will be able to be reintroduced to the wild someday.

RICHMOND, Va. — Employees of the Richmond Wildlife Center in Virginia are doing their best to act like mother foxes as they feed and care for an orphaned kit that found her way into their care.

In a video posted to the center’s Facebook page Tuesday, Executive Director Melissa Stanley is shown wearing a red fox mask and rubber gloves while feeding the tiny kit from a syringe. The kit sits on top of a large stuffed animal fox that is supposed to look like her mother, Stanley said.

The same Facebook post explained why staff are wearing the mask to feed her, minimizing human sounds, creating visual barriers and taking other precautions. “It’s important to make sure that the orphans that are raised in captivity do not become imprinted upon or habituated to humans,” the post said.

All those measures make it more likely the kit could be reintroduced into the wild someday.

Many thanks to everyone who has supported the Red Fox Kit. She is progressing well. It's important to make sure that the orphans that are raised in captivity do not become imprinted upon or habituated to humans. To prevent that, we minimize human sounds, create visual barriers, reduce handling, reduce multiple transfers amongst different facilities, and wear masks for the species. We were able to locate fox kits of the same age and weight as ours and are working to determine what is in the best interest of the foxes. If they should be transferred to us, or if we should transfer ours to them. Either way, it's in the best interest of this Fox to get it with other foxes her own age. We will keep you posted. In the interim, enjoy this video of Fox milk time. Please consider sponsoring an animal in our care today. Every dollar counts! To support an animal, you can donate in any of the following ways: *Venmo - @rvawildlife (last 4 of phone 1037) *Cashapp - $rvawildlife *By Mail to Richmond Wildlife Center P.O. Box 14694, Richmond, VA 23221 *Directly on our website at: https://www.richmondwildlifecenter.org By credit card - https://square.link/u/dfcOK4am If you make a donation through Venmo or Cashapp and would like a tax receipt, please email admin@richmondwildlifecenter.org Thank you for your support!

Posted by Richmond Wildlife Center on Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Stanley said in an interview Tuesday that the kit was admitted to the center on Feb. 29 after a man walking his dog found her in an alley in Richmond. Thinking she was a kitten, he turned her over to the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She was less than 24 hours old and her umbilical stump was still attached.

Wildlife center staff initially tried to locate the kit's mother and her den site so they could reunite them. They found the den site, but were told by the grounds superintendent that the foxes had been trapped and removed. Stanley said she suspects the fox kit either fell out of a trap or off the back of the trapper's truck.

Staff at the wildlife center have been taking turns feeding the kit every two to four hours, all while wearing the fox mask. In addition to the large stuffed animal meant to mimic the kit's mother, staff also put a smaller stuffed red fox in her enclosure. She cuddles up to the smaller stuffed animal at the end of the video.

“The goal is to release animals back into the wild, not only to give them a greater chance of survival, but to recognize their own species and to reproduce to carry on their wildlife population,” Stanley said.

To that end, the center immediately began looking for other red fox kits of the same age and weight within the rehabilitation community. Staff located three other kits in a rehabilitation setting in northern Virginia. The fox kit will be transferred to the Animal Education and Rescue Organization, which plans to eventually release the kits back into the wild together.

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