Farmer Performs C-Section on Dead Fox and Rescues Four Cubs in West Sussex
The cubs are now seven weeks old and the family is working with Fox Project, a registered charity to treat them and make them enough strength so that they can go to the wild.
A farmer in West Sussex, England saved the lives of four fox cubs by performing an emergency C-section on a dead fox. The pregnant animal had died when Chris Rolfe spotted its body on the roadside along the A272 near Cowfold. He got out of the car and checked the mother fox which had been killed, but its stomach was still moving. Chris says an 'instinct' kicked in and he rushed back to his car to get a knife. He immediately performed a C-section at around 11.45 pm when the baby foxes were born. The cubs are now seven weeks old and the family is working with Fox Project, a registered charity to treat them and make them enough strength so that they can go to the wild. The fox cubs have been named as Ginger, Biscuit, Big tip and Little tip. What The Fox! London Family Surprised to See a Fox Sleeping on Their Microwave, View Pic.
The 24-year-old took the babies home in his pockets to his mother. While Chris has no veterinary training, he had performed C-section during the lambing season. Chris said, "I saw her on the road and stopped to check and see if she was suffering. It was instinctive otherwise instead of one life lost, it would have been the death of all of the cubs as well as the mum. I didn't think about it, I just did it." Farmer Performs C-Section on Dead Fox and Rescues Four Cubs in West Sussex.
Chris added, "I am really pleased they are all healthy. It was just something I felt obliged to do, I wouldn't want to see the mum suffer and that is why I got out of the car. And then when I realised she had passed away when I was checking her body, I saw her stomach moving. I couldn't think about it too much, I just had to perform the C-section because every minute is crucial. After I got the cubs out, I took them straight to my mum's and she cared for them - making sure they were clean and getting their circulation going, making she they were up and running."
Chris' mom Jean Rolfe said they both acted quickly to save the cubs when they were brought home. His mom had earlier worked with the Fox Project. After cleaning the babies and ensuring they were safe and dry, Jean began to feed her milk every 20 minutes. She also fed them puppy dog food and frozen chicks. The cubs which are currently under the Fox project programme will be sent to the wild once they are six months. The foxes will travel to other fox foster homes so that it can be independent.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 15, 2019 03:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).