With eyes closed and no mother to guide them, five squeaking furry animals had been tossed into a plastic bag and dumped in a London-area garden, left to die. A passer-by heard their cries and rushed them to a local RSPCA hospital, thinking they were dogs.
Turns out, they were wild red foxes.
Weak and hungry, the cubs were taken to the Fox Project, a charity that works in wild fox rescue and advocacy. After a few hard days of recovery, the foxes were placed with a foster home, where they have since settled down and are "doing really rather well," according to Fox Project director Trevor Williams.
Now 6 weeks old, the cubs, called the Hollies, are still getting a "comfort bottle" as they get introduced to solid food. Their foster mom, Lyn Vaughan, wakes up in the middle of the night to feed them. Their nocturnal senses are starting to kick in, so they're becoming more active in the wee hours, and "are quite vociferous if they're not being fed."
"We're starting to see the differences in their personalities," Williams says. "You start to notice who's the dominant fox, who's the bully, who's the gentle one, who likes a laugh. I've never met two foxes the same."
The Hollies will continue with their foster care through the summer, moving from home to home in order to be "wilded up" and not so attached to people.
"They'll be almost like teenagers before they're able to cope in the wild on their own," Williams says.
Who knows? They may continue to reside in London – foxes are a common sight in the city, so the Hollies would feel right at home.
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