Last month, a family-run animal rescue group based in Devon, United Kingdom, found and rescued a four-week-old fox cub from near a building construction site in the Barne Barton area of Plymouth, the BBC reported.
Surprised at the cub's younger-than-usual age compared to their typical fox pup rescues, the rescue group wondered if something had caused the pup to separate from its mother so early. This rescue also happened to be the first of the year — most fox pup rescues by the group happen around May, according to the BBC.
Rick Parker, co-founder of ELM Wildlife Hedgehog Rescue and Rehabilitation, trekked to the building site to search the area for signs of the pup's family. To his dismay, he found none. The site was also locked up and plastered with "No Trespassing" signs.
"It sounds like it is going to be a building site and they have cleared this land and I guess the earth has been compromised in some way," Parker said, per the BBC.
The rescue group's main center houses rescued hedgehogs, making it an unsuitable space for foxes, as the latter are predators and the former prey.
Instead, Parker has dedicated a backroom, a cellar, and an outdoor enclosure within his house to lodge any rescued fox pups until they are ready to be released.
Parker has purchased additional land — funded by remortgaging his house, according to the charity's GoFundMe campaign — to continue rescuing and rehabilitating U.K. wildlife.
The past three years, however, have been financially pressing for the group, as it lost support from one of its longstanding benefactors because of health-related reasons. According to the GoFundMe campaign, started in January, ELM's remaining funding is only enough to sustain six more months of daily operation.
"To be honest, we personally couldn't afford to purchase the land. … If we stop trying, ELM will close, jobs will be lost and thousands of animals will die," Parker wrote. Donations to rescue centers provide critical supplementary funding, allowing groups to continue operating.
Without measured intervention efforts of rescue groups such as ELM, which stands for Every Life Matters, wild animals — such as this leucistic penguin and these baby squirrels — can suffer from illness, injury, displacement, or even death.
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Definitely 👍 "My heart hurts… adorable little darling. Thank you for saving him and helping. Foxes need to be protected and I'm so glad people and places like you can help to do that," one user commented under an ELM Facebook post.
"Poor little boy losing his mum and siblings. I do hope they are found and he can be reunited with them if possible," another commenter wrote.
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