Hi everyone! Thanks for joining us. I’m Jessi, and this is Seraphina the red fox.
She’s in a pretty frisky mood right now and she actually doesn’t really like the camera,
so she’ll probably be running around being curious and rowdy while we’re in here with her.
I’d like to give you an update on how Seraphina is doing because not too long ago,
her life companion, Cas the Arctic fox, passed away, leaving Seraphina on her own.
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So this is going to be a story, it has ups and downs, and because this is real life,
it doesn’t have a nice tidy ending. I’m sharing the story with you because it sheds some light
on some of the struggles of caring for animals at a rescue center.
So Seraphina is just about 10 years old, and she’s been at Animal Wonders
since she was a really young kit.
She was originally born at a fur farm and came to live here so she could become an
ambassador for her species instead of being turned into a fur coat for someone to wear.
A few months later, she was joined by a young and feisty Arctic fox kit named Cas,
and the two of them became fast friends. They had many adventures together, playing,
running, and giving educational presentations in schools and to the public. Life was good.
When they were around eight years old, we learned that Cas had cancer in his leg, so we knew we had
to think ahead for Seraphina’s well-being, while we did everything we could for Cas.
Foxes often live mostly solitary lives in the wild, but can have
positive interactions with others. Now in captivity, foxes will often enjoy the company
of other foxes. And since Seraphina showed a strong attachment to Cas, we thought it was
in her best interest to make sure she didn’t end up living alone if Cas were to pass away.
So, we kept an eye out for any foxes that might be a good companion for Sera,
and when we learned of Tigli, a young Arctic fox who was in need of a safe and knowledgeable home,
we made arrangements to have him come to Animals Wonders and meet Seraphina.
Unfortunately, after a promising introduction,
Tigli ended up not liking our sweet girl, and he bit her causing serious damage. Tigli also
didn’t like to interact with humans, and we knew he could be much happier somewhere else,
so in the spring he moved to Texas and is doing great in his new home.
Shortly after, we were contacted and asked to take in a young red fox
that was severely ill and needed immediate medical attention.
When she came in, Ariel had a broken leg and was very sick, but she surprised all of us when
she pulled through and started gaining her strength back. As we got to know her more,
we had high hopes that she could be just the right personality to be a companion for Seraphina.
Now often two female foxes, or vixens, can have trouble getting along, but due to neurological
impairment, Ariel was gentle and calm, which would make her even more likely to get along with Seraphina.
Unfortunately, while Ariel seemed to have overcome her illnesses, she unexpectedly passed away in the
early fall before she was introduced to Sera and Cas. We were heartbroken, but at the same time
I’m so, so grateful that we were able to give Ariel a really good life while she was here.
A few months after that, Cas also passed away. Our hearts have been heavy but again, I’m still
grateful we were able to give Cas a wonderful life and he had Seraphina as a steadfast friend through it all.
So, even though the loss of an animal hurts, I’d do it all again if I had the choice.
After Cas's passing, Seraphina was noticeably different. She did get to say goodbye to him
so she was hopefully not expecting him to come back.
She spent a few days with less activity than normal, but soon she perked up again.
It’s been a few months since Sera has been on her own, and the biggest changes in her behavior
are that she spends quite a bit more time lounging on her favorite perch
looking out the window. And she gets really excited when we come to visit.
She used to greet me with tail wags and a few happy screams, but now she runs around screaming
more enthusiastically and for longer. And then she follows the happy screams with coming over
for lots of neck and face rubs and is overall very interested in being social.
Now I could make a guess and say that she’s lonely, but I don’t want to put that human
emotion label on her because we can never tell what an animal is really thinking.
She could also be more bored, or she could be simply enjoying the space to herself.
To make sure she was transitioning to living alone in the best way,
we immediately increased the time we spent with her each day and gave her new engaging enrichment.
She got new branches, some new soil for all the good smells,
she got new toys and a wide variety of foods, so there was plenty to keep her busy.
We also noticed that she began digging a den in her dirt floored space,
and it’s since become quite deep. So she’s been finding ways to entertain herself as well.
We’re not sure what the future holds for Seraphina and our fox saga,
but we’re keeping our minds and ears open for whatever comes next because
we’re never sure what is going to happen or who might be needing a home.
All we can do is to be as prepared as possible and make the best decisions that we can
with what we know. I can promise you that we’ll always lead with love
and keep the animal’s well-being as our priority.
Thanks for watching! I hope you have a better understanding about some of the challenges
that come with animal rescue. You can’t always know what’s going to happen,
and best laid plans don’t always work out.
If you'd like to help support our efforts to rescue animals in need and share their stories,
you can join our community on Patreon by going to patreon.com/animalwonders.
Your monthly support will keep us going, and you get fun perks in return.
And if you’d like to continue going on animal adventures with us,
be sure to subscribe and we’ll see you soon! Bye!
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