Animal control officers pulled off a daring 鈥� yet also adorable 鈥� wildlife rescue in D.C. Thursday night.
The Humane Rescue Alliance got a call about two fox babies, known as kits, who were stuck in a basement window well in Northwest, and 鈥渢hey weren鈥檛 making it out,鈥� Dan D鈥橢ramo, the director of field services, told 草莓传媒.
When animal control officer Ryan Jesien showed up, he estimated the kits were about 6 weeks old. That鈥檚 about the age 鈥渨here we would expect them to be sort of stumbling around and exploring and seeing the world for the first time out of the den,鈥� D鈥橢ramo said, 鈥渟o it鈥檚 also not a surprise that they fell into a window well.鈥�
Jesien wrapped the kits up in towels 鈥� they weighed 4 to 5 pounds, about the size of puppies 鈥� took them from the window well and put them on the grass. He checked them out briefly to see whether they were healthy enough to be released; as soon as he did, they ran off into a wooded area.
Waiting for them was an adult female fox, presumably the kits鈥� mother. 鈥淭hey ran right up to her, and off into the woods,鈥� D鈥橢ramo said.
He added that the people who called the alliance had done the right thing: 鈥淸The kits] were scared; even cute little babies like that can still scratch and bite.鈥�
D’Eramo said it鈥檚 the time of year when wildlife are starting to head into populated areas, and 鈥渨e鈥檙e getting a lot of calls.鈥�
But that鈥檚 the safe thing to do. 鈥淭hey should not mess with it, and they should call us,” he said. Animal control officers have the safety equipment they need to handle the animals safely, as well as the knowledge to assess whether the animals can be released safely.
鈥淭here is a lot of wildlife that is naturally occurring in D.C.,鈥� D鈥橢ramo said. With a call to the alliance, you can find out whether you鈥檙e seeing a situation that requires intervention or 鈥測ou鈥檙e lucky enough to just be seeing wildlife doing its wild thing out in the city.鈥�
The number to call is 202-576-6664.
草莓传媒’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
