Wandering Arctic fox captured in Oregon, origins unclear

UPI ^ | October 16, 2024 | Ben Hooper

[Red Badger]

Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Animal rescuers in Oregon said a small, white animal spotted earlier this month in Portland was safely captured and positively identified as an Arctic fox.

The Bird Alliance of Oregon said the female Arctic fox was brought into its Wildlife Care Center, but officials still do not know how she ended up in the Portland area.

"Arctic foxes don't naturally occur in Oregon, so this species is considered an exotic animal here," rescuers wrote on social media. "Its native habitat is in the far north in places like Greenland, Svalbard, northern Russia, Canada and Alaska."

Rescuers said the fox's behavior is consistent with a life in captivity.

"The fox doesn't show a species appropriate fear response to people, and was actually approaching humans when rescued," the post said. "We believe the fox either accidentally escaped from captivity or was intentionally dumped by the people who illegally held her."

The animal was said to be healthy, aside from being dehydrated and "just a little thin."

"We're keeping her fed, hydrated, and providing enrichment while the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife determines next steps," officials wrote.

[xoxox]

not the prettiest thing. neither is that cat.

[Red Badger]

Well, it needs a bath, but Arctic Foxes are really beautiful creatures.....................

[nwrep]

Wow, look at that fur!

[Ezekiel]

Matthew 8

19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Not in Portland, anyway.

[sasquatch]

Driven south by lack od habitat.

[SaveFerris]

(Wandering Arctic fox captured in Oregon, origins unclear)

Possibly the Arctic 🥶🥶🥶?

😝

[Sirius Lee]

Nope. Bora Bora.

[Zhang Fei]

Beautiful specimen. Likely domesticated at great expense courtesy of the Russian government.

Many exotic pet owners don’t realize that domestic pets are different from wild animals in that the former went through many generations of selection. Some were bred and aggressive animals culled. Others persisted in human company because the ones who did not attack humans were fed, while the aggressive ones were either cast out or killed. Either way, this took generations. The century-long effort to domesticate the silver fox is a case in point.

---

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_silver_fox
[After over 40 generations of breeding, in short, Belyayev produced “a group of friendly, domesticated foxes who ‘displayed behavioral, physiological, and anatomical characteristics that were not found in the wild population, or were found in wild foxes but with much lower frequency….Many of the domesticated foxes had floppy ears, short or curly tails, extended reproductive seasons, changes in fur coloration, and changes in the shape of their skulls, jaws, and teeth. They also lost their ‘musky fox smell’.”[6] It was Belyayev’s view that these new attributes, which were extremely similar to the attributes of other domesticated animals, “was the result of selection for amenability to domestication.” His reasoning was that behavior is “regulated by a fine balance between neurotransmitters and hormones at the level of the whole organism ... . Because mammals from widely different taxonomic groups share similar regulatory mechanisms for hormones and neurochemistry, it is reasonable to believe that selecting them for similar behavior – tameness – should alter those mechanisms, and the developmental pathways they govern, in similar ways.”[2]]

[SaveFerris]

Maybe he took an airplane! ✈️🛫

[Red Badger]

"The fox doesn't show a species appropriate fear response to people, and was actually approaching humans when rescued," the post said. "We believe the fox either accidentally escaped from captivity or was intentionally dumped by the people who illegally held her."

Most likely a person's illegal pet that got away..................

[TalBlack]

I saw a very healthy looking red Fox in Flushing Cemetery a few weeks ago. Flushing is in Queens NYC. As it passed fairly close to me it didn’t look warily at me and go wide, rather, it glanced at me and then paid no further attention. Feral animals are usually more cautious than that.

[Veto!]

Great comment.

Wherever it’s from it’s a beautiful animal and needs a good, appropriate home with an excellent diet and vet care.

[Organic Panic]

Foxes are status pets for Ukrainian and Russian thugs. But being Portland. Who knows where this poor thing came from.

[SaveFerris]

Thanks :)

I hope it is well-taken care of

I put out a little food for the raccoons battling suburbia - now I have another small brown Opossum (at least that’s what I think he is - Midwest USA) that’s snacking too

I watched him eat for a little bit - he had no idea I was watching him - I stayed out of sight but I was less than 2 feet away from him - this was 2 nights ago

[Veto!]

I feed “Blackie” every night up on my deck. He’s a big beautiful long-haired feral cat who ives in the neighborhood under a big spread 0f bushes . Neighbor managed to catch him with help of the local humane society trap and lots of sardines. So Blackie has been neutered and given his shots. Occasionally he and my cat Daisy have little cat chats, but he runs away when he sees me. I put food out and call him every night and sooner or later he arrives for his very high quality crunchies and clean water. So I’m his mom and neighbor, Frank, is his dad who feeds him too.

Racoons have occasionally stolen all the cat food, but because Frank and I have timing down to an art, they rarely show up any more. Agree they are really cute, glad you take care of them. But often they have rabies and fight with cats, so not popular here.

[GreenLanternCorps]

[SaveFerris]

yeah

[SaveFerris]

I saw that one!

[Wuli]

Some people are really stupid when it comes to wild animals, making things more difficult for such animals than they need to be and imposing risks and consequences on their fellow humans as well. The humans who brought the little Fox south into Oregon ought to be legally banned to live anywhere execept the artic circle.