Meet Pudding, the Photogenic Fox That’s too Friendly to be Released Into the Wild

In most situations, if a fox comes running up to a human in broad daylight, either they’ve got a tin can stuck on their head or something else is terribly wrong. Foxes are beautiful creatures that are adorable beyond any doubt, but they’re known for being wild predators that keep their distance from humans. Pudding the fox, however, is the exact opposite.

Perhaps the friendliest fox you will ever meet, little Pudding has become a permanent resident at the National Fox Welfare Society in England. Despite numerous attempts to reintegrate Pudding back into a wild pack, she is simply too friendly to survive on her own.

Pudding was found by the National Fox Welfare Society (NFWS) when she was just a cub. Mark Hemmington, the founder of NFWS, took Pudding in. He intended to integrate her into a group of fox cubs he was in the process of rehabilitating in order to release them all back into the wild.

This is not precisely how things worked out. Hemmington tells ABCNews that the day before he had planned to introduce Pudding to the group, a 200-foot tree fell, blocking off the entrance to the fox cub’s pen.

No cubs were harmed and Hemmington was able to feed the cubs, but he was unable to let Pudding into the pen along with the other infants. It took months for the tree to be removed, and in that timeframe, Pudding bonded with Hemmington.

Because of this early socialization with Hemmington, Pudding has become far too friendly to be released back into the wild. Hemmington tried to assimilate Pudding with other foxes after this failed first attempt, but she had become to domestic to be able to survive in the wild.

While Pudding has become a beloved companion, Hemmington does not Support keeping foxes as domestic animals, telling ABC News, “they are wild animals and that is where I believe they should be.”

Pudding is happy and safe living at NFWS and even has a fellow domesticated fox companion, a cub who was raised as a companion animal then turned over to the sanctuary.

Although we wish Pudding could have rejoined her wild counterparts in the forests of Yorkshire, it is comforting to know that she will be well taken care of at NFWS.

To learn more about Pudding and the work done by the National Fox Welfare Society, check out their website and Facebook page. 

Lead image source: National Fox Welfare Society/Facebook