Lost fox cub recovering at animal sanctuary

The fox cub, named Fidget, was found by children during an Easter egg hunt. Picture: Hemedia

The three-week-old male was spotted on a farm by a group of youngsters before being picked up and taken to a nearby animal sanctuary.

The cub, named Fidget, is now being looked after at the New Arc Centre in Auchnagett, Aberdeenshire.

Keith Marley, 57, who runs the centre with his wife Pauline, said the fox was one of their first admissions during the centre’s busy “orphan season”.

Fidget the fox cub is thought to be around three weeks old. Picture: Hemedia

He said: “The cub is feeding peacefully. It’s at the stage where its mother would leave it alone more often, which might explain how it has ended up here.

“Cubs get up to all sorts of devilment and I reckon it might have gone out for a wee stroll on a hot day.

“There were a lot of kids running about doing an egg hunt. They’d seen it wandering quite a bit before deciding it was lost and picked it up.

“He’s just over three weeks and he’s cute as tuppence. One of the problems is people take them and treat them as dogs.

“After several months they rear and become snappy things. They are completely independent.

“They can be tamed to a certain degree. You tend to find they can be well behaved until the age of 10 months or so, and they become quite aggressive.”

Keith said it was important that the cub does not bond too much with those caring for it so that it does not struggle when it returns to the wild.

At this time of year, New Arc is often overrun with newborn animals from fox cubs to deer, and even squirrels and sparrows.

Fidget is believed to have wandered too far from the den and got lost, or was potentially abandoned by its mother.

Keith added: “It’s quite hard not bond with it but it in the best interests of the animal.

“The name Fidget seems to be one that is sticking with people. It’s at the stage where it wants to feed itself but is just more likely to walk through its food than eat it.

“It is orphan season - this is the time for cubs, from baby squirrels to baby deer, it is just that time of year. We see everything from sparrows to gulls as well.”

The centre plan on releasing Fidget back into the wild at the end of the summer when it is fully grown.