Baby boom: RSPCA cares for orphaned fox cubs

With spring in the air as well as signs of new life from the natural world, the RSPCA is seeing an influx in fox cubs coming into its care up and down the country.

Animal welfare officer (AWO) Nicola Thomas was called earlier this week to collect a lone fox cub that was found in a garden in Leyton, east London. When she arrived to collect the cub, she could also hear his siblings calling from the garden next door. 

Nicola said: “The neighbours kindly let me take a look and sure enough there were two more cubs, who were also very hungry and crying. I popped all three cubs into a secure, warm carrier, but as I was putting them in my van, another neighbour asked if I could come and look at a fox that was behaving oddly in their garden. Sadly, when I followed them into their garden, I found a large female fox that had unfortunately died. I am fairly sure this was the mother of the cubs, and the fact she didn’t return to them may have made them appear in the neighbouring gardens, calling for her. It’s really sad the mother had passed away, but now our job is to make sure the cubs are well looked after in the care of a wildlife hospital, until they are old enough to be released back to the wild,”

Inspector Mat Hawkins was called to his first fox cub collection of the year this week, in Thamesmead, south east London, where the homeowner was concerned for a young cub they had found in the local area, as they had not seen any foxes locally, and were worried he had been abandoned. 

Mat said: “Often, mother foxes do come back and claim their cubs, but as this little one had also suffered a suspected seizure, and had already been brought indoors, I collected him and took him to the care of The Fox Project. Their team will monitor his condition and take care of him, and I hope he’ll be well enough for them to release in the future.” 

After a litter of six fox cubs were disturbed from a den their mother had made in a haystack in Lavenham, Suffolk, Inspector Jason Finch was called to take a look.

Jason said: “Ordinarily, we try to leave wild animals to take care of themselves and their young, but when the vehicles came to move the haystack and uncovered the den, it left the foxy family exposed to the elements with no shelter or safety within reach. For this reason, the caller had already brought the cubs inside their house before calling us for advice. The mother fox had disappeared and I was concerned she wouldn’t come back or be able to move the cubs to a place of safety herself, so I collected the six tiny youngsters and took them to RSPCA East Winch wildlife centre. All are doing well in our care, and in a few months of special care, they’ll be able to be released back to the wild.” 

This fox cub was rescued from a building site in Merseyside and taken home by a worker who thought he was an abandoned puppy. But it wasn’t long after the animal was taken to their home in Speake that they realised he was in fact not a puppy - but a fox cub! The building site worker then contacted the RSPCA and Animal Welfare Officer (AWO) Matt Brown went to collect the cub on Monday (March 30) and he is now recovering well.

Matt said: “The worker was on a building site in Speake when he came across what he initially thought was an abandoned puppy and as he could see no mother around he took him home. But when someone told him it was not a pup but actually a fox cub he rightly called the RSPCA."

The cub, which had his eyes open but is thought to be less than a month old, was taken to a local vet where he is fed on puppy milk and will be transferred to the RSPCA’s Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich in a few days. Once he is independent and strong enough he will be released back into the wild.

The team at RSPCA West Hatch Animal Centre in Somerset are currently caring for ten orphaned fox cubs, who’ve all arrived at the centre in recent days after being brought to safety by the charity’s animal rescuers.

Animal care teams at the specialist wildlife rehabilitation centre have been working round the clock to ensure their young guests have everything they need to get ready to be released back into the wild when they are old enough.

The fox cubs have come to the centre from across the West Country after being found by concerned members of the public who’ve called for help after monitoring the young mammals.

Two of the young cubs were discovered alongside the body of their mother in North Devon after she’d sadly lost her life after being hit by a vehicle.

The charity is grateful to any member of the public that takes the time to contact them about animals they fear need help. However, it is important to remember that not all young animals need rescuing and many would be better off being left where they are and monitored for as long as possible as the parents are usually nearby. 

Four fox cubs were spotted alone in the garden of a house in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, on 25 March.

The homeowner was concerned about the cubs, who are just four weeks old, and called the RSPCA for advice. As the mother fox had not returned for some time, RSPCA Animal Collection Officer (ACO) Caitlin McNaughton was sent to help.

Caitlin said: "Whilst the best place for a fox cub is in the wild with their parents, the cubs were very young and it was cold so there was concern about leaving them any longer, so the best thing to do was to take them into our care at our RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich.

“We are not sure what happened to mum. She may have been scared when moving her cubs and dropped them and was too frightened to return or she may have been killed in a road accident, we just don’t know. The cubs’ eyes were open but they were not mobile and they felt cold so I scooped them up in a blanket which kept them warm as I transported them. Once they are independent and strong enough they will be released back into the wild." 

A video of the cubs being checked by a vet and having food is available to be downloaded on this link:  https://we.tl/t-R2w32rSoPl

Adam Grogan, head of wildlife at the RSPCA said: “Our advice is that if you see a lone baby wild animal, unless they are obviously injured or in immediate danger from predators or traffic, monitor the situation from afar as they may not need rescuing. Young animals have a much greater chance of survival if they remain with their mothers.

“Where possible we will always try to reunite them and we always ask members of the public to leave the cubs in situ where possible and call for advice. That way our staff can assess the situation to see if we can reunite them

“If you find a fox cub on their own and their eyes are open, the cub is probably fine – the parents will usually be nearby. Leave a supply of dog food and water nearby and check again after 24 hours. If the cub is in immediate danger – on a road or somewhere very exposed – safely move the cub to a sheltered, safe spot nearby, handling the cub as little as possible.”

Foxes that become used to humans do not survive in the wild and cubs should only be taken into captivity as a last resort. If you find a fox cub that’s injured, sick, in immediate danger or has their eyes closed then please call the RSPCA for advice on our cruelty and advice line on 0300 1234 999. More information on fox cubs can be found on the RSPCA website.

During this difficult time, our priority is to help animals in need. We are already experiencing strain on our centres and frontline due to Covid-19 and this will worsen in the weeks ahead. To help the RSPCA though this challenging time, please visit www.rspca.org.uk/give or call our donation line on 0300 123 8181.  We know this is a difficult time for animal lovers. Please visit our website for advice, information and support.