Last month, workers at a garage in Bromley, England, lifted an electric Mustang for a routine service. At first, nothing seemed unusual. Then, without warning, five tiny furry babies tumbled from the car’s engine area onto the garage floor.
The mechanics at Vertu Ford Bromley were shocked by what they saw. The newborn animals were moving on the ground, so the team gently collected them, placed them in a cardboard box and took them straight to a local veterinarian.
There, the babies were identified as newborn fox cubs.
Fortunately, the little foxes were not injured, even after falling from about 6 feet. Still, the vet staff knew they needed help from wildlife experts, so they contacted The Fox Project. Soon after, ambulance driver Nicki Townsend arrived to assist.
Townsend explained that newborn animals can sometimes avoid serious injury from falls because their bones are still soft and flexible compared with fully developed bones.
The cubs’ healthy condition also suggested that their mother had been taking good care of them. Rescuers believed she had likely chosen the parked Mustang because it seemed like a dry, sheltered and quiet place to raise her babies.
Since the car was electric, the space where a traditional engine would normally sit instead held the battery, leaving enough room for a vixen and her newborns to nest. The vehicle also had not been moved for a while, which likely made it feel safe to the mother fox.
The Fox Project contacted the car’s owner, who was very willing to help reunite the family. The rescue team arranged to bring the cubs back to the owner’s driveway at night, hoping their mother would still be nearby.
They placed the babies in a heated box in the spot where the car had been parked and prepared for a long wait. But to everyone’s surprise and relief, the mother fox appeared within minutes.
The rescuers stayed quiet as the vixen approached the box. One by one, she gently picked up each cub and carried them away to a new den she had likely made close by.
In less than 10 minutes, every baby had been safely moved.
For Townsend and the rescue team, it was the perfect outcome. The cubs were healthy, back with their mother and exactly where they belonged.