A tale of two fox cubs

The girl and boy cubs, named Sooty and Sweep because of the noises they make, were rescued from a garden in Crawley after builders found them abandoned in the garden. A new fence was being built, so it is believed that the activity scared the mother away, leaving the cubs alone.
By The Newsroom
Published 31st Mar 2014, 13:05 BST
Tarnya Knight feeding Sweep SUS-140331-120228001Tarnya Knight feeding Sweep SUS-140331-120228001
Tarnya Knight feeding Sweep SUS-140331-120228001

The two cubs, just a few days old, were rescued by Horsham wildlife charity Care for the Wild, where wildlife carer Tarnya Knight took them in and fed them by hand. But the story doesn’t end there:

“We didn’t want to give up the chance that the mother might take one or both of these cubs back,” said Tarnya. “So our volunteer Paul took them back to the garden where they came from and sat out during the evening, hoping that the mother would come back. We kept the cubs warm on heat pads and hoped for the best.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Wonderfully, the mother did come back, but she was only able to take the boy, Sooty, back into the trees with her. That’s a great result for us, as people don’t realise that it’s possible to re-unite a mother and cub in this way.

“As for Sweep, she’s back with me now. She’ll soon go to the Fox Project, who will look after her until she’s able to look after herself and be released back into the wild. The brother and sister are going to have very different experiences now, but who knows, maybe they’ll meet each other again one day!”

A video of Sweep being fed can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POA5IwC3YGQ

Care for the Wild is a charity based in Horsham, working on behalf of wildlife in the UK and internationally. For more information see www.careforthewild.com.

Report and picture contributed by Care for the Wild.

Related topics:Crawley