While most police spent Easter weekend making sure Londoners were social distancing in the glorious sunny weather, firearms officers in Southwark came across something that was definitely worth flouting the 2m rule for.
While patrolling Burgess Park on Sunday, the Metropolitan Police’s SCO19 Specialist Firearms Command rescued a baby fox cub that was spotted alone and ‘distressed’ by members of the public. The four- to five-week-old cub was found injured with a bite on its tail thought to be from an attack by a dog.
On Twitter, police said ‘with no sign of its parents’ the officers cared for it until a wildlife charity could take over.
They christened the russet scamp ‘Bobby’ and also managed to snap some extremely cute photographs of the little furball wrapped in a blanket. Just look at his little face!
The Fox Project, a wildlife ambulance service based in Kent and dedicated to supporting red foxes, is now looking after Bobby. Sandra Reddy, the charity’s hospital director, told Time Out: ‘Initially he was pretty collapsed and we suspected spinal damage, the following day he was standing though unsteady on his legs - he had obviously suffered quite a shock from his encounter with a dog and he has a bite wound on his tail, which we are keeping a close eye on. He is receiving antibiotics to prevent it becoming infected.’
While at the Fox Project Bobby has joined a false litter of ‘siblings’ for his comfort and to maintain his knowledge that he is a fox while in a human environment. The charity says the cubs quickly establish a hierarchy within their formed group and that Bobby is the top dog in his litter. What a glow up!
