Blue Ridge Wildlife Center Patient of the Week: Red Fox

Remember these young red foxes that arrived back in April as tiny, orphaned kits? Thanks to months of dedicated care, they’ve grown into healthy, agile, and inquisitive young foxes—nearly ready for life on their own.

Without parents to care for them, these kits depended entirely on our team for warmth, nutrition, and safety. Over the past several months, they’ve progressed through every stage of rehabilitation: from around-the-clock formula feedings and medical monitoring, to solid foods and the development of key natural behaviors.

Once they were big enough, they transitioned to one of our large outdoor enclosures, where they’ve had room to run, wrestle, and practice the skills they’ll need to survive in the wild.

Now they’re approaching the final phase of their journey: soft release.

A soft release is a gradual transition back to the wild. In nature, young foxes this age would still be with their parents—learning to stalk, chase, and pounce through observation and practice. Since our patients are orphans, we provide the next best thing.

Here’s how it works:

• They’ll be moved to a secure enclosure at a remote release site—this gives them a chance to explore their surroundings safely.
• We provide backup food support while they practice foraging and hunting.
• We monitor them with trail cameras to track their progress.
• When we see them returning less frequently for food, we know they’re gaining confidence—and we scale back support until they no longer need us at all.

This approach gives orphaned wildlife the time and resources they need to build confidence and independence, greatly improving their chances of long-term survival.

To support this process, we recently invested in a new mobile soft-release enclosure.

It’s weather-resistant, easy to move (so we can avoid releasing multiple groups in the same area), and durable enough to support many seasons of foxes—and other species—to come.

Check out this short video of our foxes in their pre-release enclosure—romping, pouncing, and getting ready to take their final leap back into the wild!

Soft release gives animals like these the best possible chance at success in the wild, especially when they’ve had to grow up without parental care. It’s a slow, thoughtful process—but one that gives these young foxes the very best chance at a truly wild future.

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