Wildlife Workers Dress Up to Care for Orphaned Fox
2024-03-15
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1In the eastern state of Virginia, employees of the Richmond Wildlife Center are doing their best to act like mother foxes.
2They started feeding and caring for a baby fox, called a kit, when the young animal became separated from its mother.
3The Associated Press reported that a video recently appeared on the center's page on the social media service Facebook.
4In the video, Executive Director Melissa Stanley is shown wearing a red fox mask and equipment like rubber gloves.
5She feeds the young fox in the video.
6The kit sits on top of a stuffed animal that looks like a fox.
7It is supposed to look like her mother, Stanley said.
8The Facebook post explained why employees were wearing the fox mask to feed the baby animal.
9It also said workers are avoiding making human sounds and are preventing the kit from seeing its human caregivers.
10The post said the orphan should not become too close to humans while it is being raised by them.
11The measures make it more likely that the kit could be returned to the wild.
12Stanley said a man brought the kit to the center on February 29.
13She said he found the animal on the street while walking his dog in Richmond.
14Thinking she was a baby cat, the man turned her over to the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Richmond SPCA).
15The Richmond SPCA is a nonprofit organization that takes in cats and dogs without owners and finds them homes.
16Wildlife center employees tried to find the kit's mother and their home, or den.
17They found the den, but they were told by officials that the foxes had been trapped and removed.
18Stanley said she thinks the fox kit either fell out of a trap or fell off the back of the trapper's truck.
19Employees at the wildlife center have been taking turns feeding the kit every two to four hours.
20They all wear the fox mask while feeding her.
21In addition to the large stuffed animal meant to look like the kit's mother, employees also put a smaller stuffed red fox in her space.
22She cuddles up to the smaller stuffed animal at the end of the video.
23Stanley said, "The goal is to release the animals back into the wild."
24She added that the goal is not to just increase their chances of survival, but to raise them to recognize other animals of their kind.
25Another goal she said was that the animals should reproduce.
26The center looked for other red fox kits of the same age and weight at other centers.
27Employees found three other kits in a center in northern Virginia.
28The fox kit will be sent to the Animal Education and Rescue Organization in Virginia.
29That group plans to release the kits back into the wild together.
30I'm Gregory Stachel.
1In the eastern state of Virginia, employees of the Richmond Wildlife Center are doing their best to act like mother foxes. They started feeding and caring for a baby fox, called a kit, when the young animal became separated from its mother. 2The Associated Press reported that a video recently appeared on the center's page on the social media service Facebook. In the video, Executive Director Melissa Stanley is shown wearing a red fox mask and equipment like rubber gloves. She feeds the young fox in the video. The kit sits on top of a stuffed animal that looks like a fox. It is supposed to look like her mother, Stanley said. 3The Facebook post explained why employees were wearing the fox mask to feed the baby animal. It also said workers are avoiding making human sounds and are preventing the kit from seeing its human caregivers. The post said the orphan should not become too close to humans while it is being raised by them. The measures make it more likely that the kit could be returned to the wild. 4Stanley said a man brought the kit to the center on February 29. She said he found the animal on the street while walking his dog in Richmond. 5Thinking she was a baby cat, the man turned her over to the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Richmond SPCA). The Richmond SPCA is a nonprofit organization that takes in cats and dogs without owners and finds them homes. 6Wildlife center employees tried to find the kit's mother and their home, or den. They found the den, but they were told by officials that the foxes had been trapped and removed. Stanley said she thinks the fox kit either fell out of a trap or fell off the back of the trapper's truck. 7Employees at the wildlife center have been taking turns feeding the kit every two to four hours. They all wear the fox mask while feeding her. 8In addition to the large stuffed animal meant to look like the kit's mother, employees also put a smaller stuffed red fox in her space. She cuddles up to the smaller stuffed animal at the end of the video. 9Stanley said, "The goal is to release the animals back into the wild." She added that the goal is not to just increase their chances of survival, but to raise them to recognize other animals of their kind. Another goal she said was that the animals should reproduce. 10The center looked for other red fox kits of the same age and weight at other centers. Employees found three other kits in a center in northern Virginia. 11The fox kit will be sent to the Animal Education and Rescue Organization in Virginia. That group plans to release the kits back into the wild together. 12I'm Gregory Stachel. 13Denise Lavoie and Lea Skene reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 14________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16fox - n. a wild animal of the dog family, with red-brown fur, a pointed face and a thick heavy tail 17mask - n. something that you wear over your face to hide it, or to frighten or entertain other people 18stuffed animal - n. a toy in the shape of an animal, made of cloth and filled with a soft substance 19orphan - n. a child whose parents are dead 20cuddle up - v.(phrasal) to sit or lie very close to somebody/something 21recognize - v. to know who somebody is or what something is when you see or hear them or it, because you have seen or heard them or it before