Newborn fox cub returned to its mother

From the The Argus, first published Wednesday 28th Mar 2007.

A three-day old fox cub has been reunited with its mother by wildlife volunteers.

The tiny cub, with its eyes still closed, was found at the bottom of a garden in Meadowlands Avenue, Hampden Park, near Eastbourne on Tuesday evening.

The owners of the property called the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service for help.

Service founder Trevor Weeks came to assess the cub and found it was warm, had a full stomach and did not appear to be hurt.

Mr Weeks believed the cub had been dropped by its mother while moving her litter to a new den so he placed the cub in a warm blanket, put it in an open cage and waited to see if the vixen would return.

Mr Weeks kept an eye on the cage from a distance and within two hours the cub had gone.

Mr Weeks said: "As a general rule if you find any fox cubs or any baby wildlife hidden in bushes or in long grass you should leave them well alone as mum will usually by near by and keeping an eye from a distance.

"It was a little unusual where the cub was found but it looked very much like a cub which had been left for mum to come back and collect so after seeking a second opinion we decided to give it a try and get it back to its mum.

"It was not easy to see the bottom of the garden in the dark but if a cat had taken the cub we would have heard the noise whereas the vixen is nice and quiet about it."

The rescue service was called to about 15 fox cubs found in gardens last year and out of the five who were not injured or ill, four were returned to their parents.

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