by Shona Aitken

Education coordinator at Wolf Hollow Rehabilitation Center

Early one morning in late May, a man who was driving into Friday Harbor was sad to see a dead fox kit lying on the edge of the road. He was in a hurry to take his friend to the early ferry, but a few minutes later, on his way back, he stopped to move the animal off the road and was surprised to find that she wasn’t dead.

The little fox kit was lying stretched out on her side, unable to move, but she was breathing and occasionally opened her eyes before lapsing back into unconsciousness. He gently wrapped her in his jacket before calling Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, then following the instructions on our after-hours message to page the on-call staff member.

When the fox arrived at the rehab center at 5:30 a.m., she was cold and in shock so we immediately warmed her and gave her medication and fluids before making her comfortable in a warm, cushioned carrier. We crossed our fingers that she would survive the next few hours.

By late morning her condition had improved enough for us to take x-rays. They showed an injury to her pelvis, which would explain why she couldn’t stand, but she probably also had a range of muscle and nerve damage from being hit by a car.  She ate a little food during the night and over the course of the next few days made gradual progress until she was able to stand and walk a little, but was still shaky.

When she had been with us for about two weeks, she was moving around better and needed more space, so we moved her into an outdoor enclosure where she spent most of her time hiding in the den box or behind a brush pile. Her food would disappear overnight and we would catch an occasional glimpse of a black nose or ears.

We hoped she would make a quick recovery so we could reunite her with her family as soon as possible, but now realized that it would take many weeks before she would be quick and agile enough to survive in the wild.

She was very good at staying hidden, but during hot weather, if you were quiet when you went out to feed her, you could find her sound asleep, curled up on top of her den box. When she realized you were there she would jump off and bolt behind the brush pile, but this gave us the opportunity to see that her limp was gradually disappearing and she was making good progress.

By late August she was well grown, was able to run and jump and had learned how to hunt, so it was time for her to go back into the wild. On the evening of her release she cautiously sniffed the air and looked around before quietly slipping out of the carrier and running off into the woods.

She was obviously not lucky to have been hit by a car in the first place, but in many other ways this was a very lucky little black fox. She was lucky to have survived being hit by a car. Most wild animals die immediately, or shortly afterwards as a result of their injuries. She was fortunate that someone noticed her and cared enough to stop and call Wolf Hollow, so she was able to get treatment very quickly, which saved her life. And finally, she was very lucky that her injuries were not too severe, so she was able to recover and go back to her life in the wild.