Here’s one fox who was lucky to get hunted.
A neighborhood in Monterey County banded together to save a brown fox when its neck got caught in a black plastic pipe — and the good Samaritans didn’t give up despite the wily creature’s best efforts to avoid capture.
“We don’t know how this little fox got himself stuck, but we are so thankful to caring neighbors [who] worked so diligently to trap him, and brought him to us,” said Beth Brookhouser, a spokesperson for SPCA.
“They are heroes.”
The troubled fox was first spotted a few weeks ago wandering around the community of Corral de Tierra by resident Claire Pendleton, who said she noticed it with the corrugated pipe on its neck through her home security camera while she was out of town, according to SFGATE.
Haunted by the sight of the troubled animal, she reached out on Facebook for help. Soon, neighbors rallied, setting traps to find the injured animal. They had no success, however.
Pendleton eventually got back home and joined the hunt. Over a week, she trapped five different foxes but never the right one, until her husband tried luring it with bread dripped in maple syrup.
Early Sunday morning, they finally got their guy.
The fox was transferred to SPCA Monterey County on Monday. According to their Facebook page, skilled wildlife rescuers sedated the young male fox and carefully cut the corrugated pipe off his neck.
The fox, who has not been named, suffered multiple deep wounds around its neck from the pipe.
He’s currently resting comfortably until he is fully healed and can be released back into the wild.
“We are incredibly thankful to Claire and all the neighbors who were so compassionate and caring to this fox,” Brookhouser added.
