Staff at Wildlife Center Dress for Success
Taking care of animals is a mission that many organizations and their volunteers work hard at every day. One center, The Richmond Wildlife Center, in Virginia is one of those organizations. A Facebook post from the center that shows a carer dressed up like a fox, caring for and formula feeding the baby fox. recently went viral.
“It’s important to make sure that the orphans that are raised in captivity do not become imprinted upon or habituated to humans,” the post said, adding that the mask helped so that “she doesn’t see a human face when feeding.”
Helping animals and saving lives
The Richmond Wildlife Center is a charitable organization founded in 2010. They try to help animals get access to the life-saving vet services and treatment they need.
According to euronews, the little newborn fox had lost his mother. The staff members at the center wanted to help the little fox and make the situation as natural as possible. That’s when creativity came in and they came up with the dress for success solution.
Executive director Melissa Stanley put on a very realistic fox mask and fed the tiny kit from a syringe.
Returning animals to the wild
The goal of the Animal Service with this little fox was to return him to the wild. The Washington Post reported that in order to return an animal to the wild, it is important they don’t get too used to humans. That way, they explain, they keep a healthy fear from people, which is an important survival skill for them to have in the wild. Associating food and care with humans would defeat the purpose.
This particular fox was brought to the rescue center when she was about a day old after being found by a man walking his dog who thought she was a kitten. At that stage she was deaf, her teeth weren’t in yet and her eyes were sealed. The center tried to find the mother and the den but the foxes had already been removed from the area.
Since then, the center has continued to use the costume with volunteers taking turns wearing the fox mask while feeding the baby fox, reported euronews.
The ultimate goal is to release the fox into its natural habitat once she is ready and once the health authorities give the green light. For now, the kit will go into rehabilitation at the Animal Education and Rescue Organisation in Northern Virginia to join three other kits .All the kits will be released into the wild together. That’s a big win for one little fox.
