A few months ago, a UK resident started hearing cries coming from the river that runs next to her house. Concerned, she went outside to investigate, and was surprised to discover a little fox nestled inside a bush on the riverbank.
The concerned woman
immediately reached out to Wildlife Aid Foundation for help, and a rescuer named Louis Horton quickly arrived at the scene. Horton carefully approached the fox, but before he could scoop her up, she got spooked and ran away.
“After all the noise, it seemed like the cub had disappeared,” Horton said on YouTube.
Horton began searching for the fox, but she was nowhere to be found. He knew the stranded baby wasn’t going to be able to survive all alone without her mama, and was worried about what would happen if they weren’t able to track her down.
“We really thought we wouldn’t be able to find her,” Horton said.
After 40 minutes of searching, Horton finally spotted her. She was buried deep in a patch of thick mud and barely able to move. Horton scooped her up and dried her off, trying to remove as much of the mud as possible.
The homeowner shared with Horton that the baby fox had been stuck on the riverbank for at least 24 hours. After being stuck for so long, she was extremely lethargic, and her body temperature had dropped dangerously low from being buried in the cold mud.
“With the cub extremely hypothermic, it was touch and go whether she would survive,” Horton said.
Horton wrapped the tiny fox in warm blankets and placed a hot water bottle next to her in her crate while he transported her back to the Wildlife Aid Foundation facility.
Thankfully, by the time Horton got back to the rescue facility with the little fox, she had perked up. She was alert and energetic as the vets completed her exam.
“Remarkably, back at the center, she was extremely active,” Horton said.
The little fox is currently still in recovery at the rescue, where she’s getting stronger and stronger every day. Once she’s fully back on her feet, she’ll be released near where she was found and get to run free in her natural habitat again.
