Orphaned baby foxes released after receiving care in Saratoga wildlife facility

"Gray foxes are native to the Bay Area with a pretty established population, said Ashley Kinney, wildlife rehabilitation department manager for the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA, which runs the Saratoga center. However, their numbers statewide have somewhat declined due to human encroachment on their habitats. The foxes perform several ecological services; the main one is pest control. Gray foxes keep gopher, vole, ground squirrel, rat and mice populations in check."

"In April, a construction crew working on tree maintenance in Alum Rock Park found the six sibling kits, which is what young foxes are called. Kinney said their den was likely disrupted. The construction workers and park rangers attempted to reunite the kits with their parents, but the parents did not come back. The baby foxes were taken to the Saratoga facility intake center 48 hours later."

"The baby foxes were about five weeks old, dehydrated and flea-ridden when they arrived at the Wildlife Care Center. They were barely able to open their eyes. Kinney said they also had small puncture wounds on them, but she wasn't entirely sure where they came from. The fox siblings were kept in a special remote enclosure among the trees at the Saratoga facility. It was designed for larger mammals and kept away from people; only certain staff could go and take"

Six orphaned gray fox kits were found in April in Alum Rock Park after their den was likely disrupted by tree maintenance. Construction workers and park rangers attempted to reunite the kits with their parents, but the parents did not return. The kits arrived at the Saratoga intake center 48 hours later at about five weeks old, dehydrated, flea-ridden, with small puncture wounds and barely able to open their eyes. The siblings were housed in a remote, tree-shaded enclosure designed for larger mammals. After four months of care they were released back into Alum Rock Park on Aug. 20. Gray foxes provide pest control, seed dispersal and carcass removal, and face statewide declines due to human habitat encroachment.

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