This is Disney’s adorable friendship between an ab.an.doned baby fox and two orphaned badger cubs.
Phoebe, the fox cub, was rescued after being found alone and scared on the streets of Leeds, UK, and taken to Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary.
When she arrived at the sanctuary, staff were unsure where to put the tiny two-month-old, as they had no other adult foxes to put her with.
They don’t want Phoebe to rely on humans for her food and support, so they had to think outside the box…
Phoebe was placed with a pair of orphan badgers to see if they could form a friendship.
Things went better than planned, Phoebe had connected with Bella and Betty, the badgers, and they became her new family.
The badgers were found roaming the streets of Meltham, West Yorkshire, as aimless cubs and brought to the sanctuary.
In the wild, foxes and badgers avoid each other, but the trio has found comfort and consolidation in another company at the reserve.
“Foxes and badgers would never mix in the wild; in fact, they tend to stay away from each other’s way,” said the reserve’s executive director, Alexandra Farmer.
“But these three are wild animals without their mother, all of a similar size, and we thought we could put them together as long as we kept a close eye on them.”
“We have been delighted to see them having such a perfect relationship. It is lovely to see them feeding, sleeping, and even playing together.”
Staff at the reserve hope that the animals will play an important role in feeding each other to one day be released into the wild.
“They’re in a row of outdoor kennels in a covered area with some bedding and a heat lamp and they’ve thrived since they were brought in together.”
“They lap puppy formula milk from the same bowl – none of them is on solids yet – and they curl up together when they go to sleep.”
“It was important that they don’t have to deal with too much and live with other wild creatures of the same size, which cannot depend on human contact.”
“When a few more fox cubs arrive, we will introduce Phoebe to them, but for now, she is getting along with the badgers just fine.”
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