The Photogenic Fox
Earlier this month, a female red fox was admitted to our clinic. She was found by a gentleman in the Newtown shopping center after being hit by a car. Presenting with moderate to severe head trauma when she arrived, she could not stand or walk. Our clinic team put her on supportive care of fluids, pain meds, soft foods, and gave her a quiet cage to rest in. And rest she did. She slept for the first 72 hours in the clinic!
After waking up, the fox became more active. She looked at her surroundings and walked around her crate. We kept her inside for over a week before moving her outdoors to our fox runs that were built for us in 2025. The fox runs can hold 10 kits or 3 adult foxes and are double doored, as per regulations for rabies vector species. The icing on the cake are the fox “igloos” that were donated to us. These igloos are insulated and perfect for our outdoor runs. Inside this patient’s enclosure we leaned palettes against a wall and covered them in evergreen branches to give her a hiding place similar to the underbrush of a typical fox environment. Once outside in the run, her strength and coordination significantly improved and within a week she was back to behaving like a normal fox: quick, agile, and shying away from people.
During the week of January 19th, as predictions for the “snowstorm of a century” grew and grew, our clinic director decided to release this fox to give her a chance to readapt to her environment before the storm. On Friday, January 23 we released her at Tyler State Park in a field close to the Newtown shopping center where she was found. We always try to release adult animals at or close to their place of rescue as it gives them the best chance of survival if they are familiar with where to find food and shelter in the area. After her immediate release, she hung around the field for a few minutes before her fiery fur was lost from view in the strip of trees at the end of the field.
Our clinic and education directors are both wildlife photographers and we are very blessed to have them around to take stunning pictures of our animals. This fox was particularly beautiful, and we took a lot of great pictures of her before she was released. We’ve shared these photos to social media so be sure to check them out on our Facebook and Instagram: @aarkwildlife.
