A wildlife centre used a method of preventing an abandoned young red fox from growing too connected to humans: feeding it while wearing a fox mask.
The Richmond Wildlife Centre in Richmond, Virginia, shared a video of the centre's founder, Melissa Stanley, feeding milk to the tiny female kit — the term for a newborn fox — while wearing the mask in an attempt to prevent imprinting, which occurs when animals form a strong bond with the first animal they receive care from shortly after birth.
"It’s important to make sure that the orphans that are raised in captivity do not become imprinted upon or habituated to humans," the centre stated in a Facebook post Tuesday.
"To prevent that, we minimise human sounds, create visual barriers, reduce handling, reduce multiple transfers amongst different facilities, and wear masks for the species," according to the release.
The centre also stated that it was able to locate more fox kits the same age and weight as the rescued fox.
The little fox, weighing only 80 grams (2.8 oz), was discovered by the Richmond SPCA and given to the centre on 29 February. Rescuers initially thought it was a cat, but soon realised it was a neonatal fox kit, with its eyes still closed and teeth yet to come out.
The center's mask footage mimicked a strategy from a wildlife reserve in China in 2022, in which staff disguised in panda clothes soiled with bear faeces and urine attempted to erase captive pandas' memories of human contact.
The Virginia centre used this action plan to raise awareness about rabies' dangers.
People who discovered the fox handled it with their bare hands, and the centre warned that this put both the finder and the animal at risk. It stated that proper gloves must be worn while handling any sick mammal encountered in the wild, including dogs and cats, to avoid having it killed and tested for rabies.
The centre also stated that, contrary to common belief, rabies does not necessarily affect aggressive animals.
The city of Richmond has documented two occurrences of rabies in domestic cats in the last five years, but none in foxes, according to the centre. There were 131 cat instances in Virginia during the same time period, as well as 185 fox cases, according to the centre.
"While the risk of transmission of rabies from this newborn fox kit is minimal given statistics on foxes in the city of Richmond, it has no teeth, and was dehydrated with reduced saliva in its mouth, the risk is not zero," the centre said in a statement to its Facebook page on March 1.
The centre stated that it is planning to reunite the kit with its mother.
Video Credit: AP
The tiny female kit — the term for a newborn fox — weighs only weighing only 80 grams.
