That’s not an abandoned puppy, that’s a ….

Turns out a baby animal rescued by a Whitehorse family is really a little fox

Ralph Shopland and his family didn’t know who to turn to when they discovered a tiny critter that appeared to have been abandoned near Marsh Lake.

Not knowing what the baby animal was, they defaulted into thinking it was a dog. The family turned to Facebook to get help finding another dog to help nurse the puppy.

They did find a surrogate wet nurse and the Yukon Wildlife Preserve stepped in to help.

Initially the thought was if the critter wasn’t a puppy, it may have been an otter or a marten or a wolverine. The white tip on the tail was the first hint that it might be a fox.

As the critter grew older, it became increasingly evident, the puppy was actually a baby fox. The eyes have opened and the fox has begun to grow teeth.

Day by day, the fox is  becoming more and more mobile and curious of its surroundings. It’s continuing to be fed by a bottle every three hours.

Conservation officers say in this case the mother fox was likely hit by a car and the little one was truly abandoned, according to the CBC

 Generally, they urge people not to touch wild animals. Conservation officer Dave Bakika said the general rule is the critter shouldn’t be considered abandoned.

If you think you’ve found orphaned wildlife, in most cases mother is very close by and just waiting for you to leave.”

The Yukon Wildlife Preserve hopes a zoo or another conservation centre may be able to keep the fox especially if it will have a companion because the organization is worried the fox may be lonely.

They’re also worried about giving the baby fox too much contact with people because of concerns the fox will have imprinted on humans. 

h/t: CBC

Photo credit: Yukon Wildlife Preserve

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Peg Fong is also in recovery from newspapers

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