A wildlife charity has appealed to the public to make contact with them for help and advice if they come across orphaned fox cubs, after it took in a one-day-old cub earlier this week.
Kildare Wildlife Rescue said that as the breeding season begins, the arrival at its rescue centre of a one-day-old fox cub, marked the start of orphan season at the busy rescue centre.
The male cub who weighed 120g was found on open green space in Ballyfermot in Dublin, and was handed over to the charity for urgent care.
Kildare Wildlife Rescue said: "The tiny cub had a laceration on its neck which required antibiotics and pain relief. It was not known how he sustained the injury."
The fox cub will be hand reared for six weeks with bottle feeds every two hours initially. He will then be placed with other cubs to resemble the normal litter size in the wild and he will stay in care for around six months before being returned to the wild.
Last year 41 orphaned and displaced cubs were cared for by the rescue centre, along with thousands of other animals. Orphaned or displaced cubs are generally found between February and May.
Charity founder and manager Dan Donoher said the majority of fox cubs they receive come from Dublin as they live close to humans, which puts them in greater danger of getting hurt or displaced.
"Fox cubs often arrive because their den has been accidentally disturbed, for example when someone is replacing an old garden shed.
"Fox cubs can often get stuck in gardens while their mother is moving them from one den to another and sometimes she has to leave them behind. They might get hurt by dogs or be injured on the road."
Kildare Wildlife Rescue has asked members of the public who come across fox cubs or disturbed dens to keep a safe distance away, take a short video, take note of the location and any other useful information and send an email with their contact details to info@kwr.ie for advice on what to do next.
