In Hatfield, England, rescuers were called after a dog picked up the scent of a fox stuck in a gap between two exterior walls at a house.
Here's what to know
According to BBC News, the rescue became a careful effort to remove the animal without damaging the garden or letting it get lodged even deeper inside.
After the fox was found, Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews from Hatfield Fire Station went to the home with a member of the RSPCA, BBC News reported.
Ollie Dent, the officer in charge, said crews did not immediately know exactly where the fox was. He described the call as "very, very difficult" and "out of the norm," even for Hatfield's crew, the county fire service's main animal rescue unit, BBC News noted.
"It took us a while to be able to see the little fella. Someone's dog had sniffed out a fox — we could see its face when we shone a torch down," he said.
After they located the animal, firefighters focused on safely removing it. "We don't want to start ripping up people's back gardens or destroying property," Dent said, "so we had to try and encourage the fox to go backwards, which was very difficult."
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More background
At the property, the space between two outside walls was wide enough for the fox to enter but not easy for it to get back out, creating an unexpected hazard at the home.
As crews worked, Dent said the fox looked frightened but otherwise stable.
"It was a little bit scared, but seemed quite comfortable," he said, according to BBC News.
What's being done?
Firefighters and animal welfare workers worked in tandem during the rescue, and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said the RSPCA brought "invaluable expertise," during the most sensitive stage of getting the fox out, per BBC News.
Part of that work involved preventing the animal from wriggling deeper into the tight space.
"The RSPCA managed to get a handler around its neck to stop it going forward, otherwise it would have become even more stuck," Dent said, per BBC News.
Throughout the operation, the fire service said responders monitored the fox's breathing and overall condition.
In the end, crews freed the fox without resorting to the kind of property damage Dent had wanted to avoid.
As the fire service put it, "Our crews worked incredibly hard to free the fox while taking every precaution to ensure it wasn't harmed."
Where can I learn more?
These articles cover other rescues involving foxes trapped in similarly tight or dangerous man-made spaces.
• Firefighters freed a fox from a rusty car wheel after a distress call from a passerby.
• The RSPCA freed a fox after his back leg became tangled in a drying rack.
• At Sweetbriar Nature Center, a three-legged fox kit recovered from a chain-link fence ordeal.
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