Dead fox..

[MUP]

My bil and family was out by the fence when I got back from one of my multiple trips to town, while working on that AC compressor today, and when I went to see what they were all standing there looking at(thinking it was likely a snake) I found that it was one of the red fox kits lying partially under the chain link portion of the fence, panting heavily and unable to get up. It was trying, but seemed to be paralyzed somehow. He was trying to give it water, and it would lap it up as he poured it into it's mouth. Anyway, it eventually died, as I was going to let him handle it since they live on his property anyway, and I had the car to finish working on. Could this fox have had rabies, distemper? It looked healthy otherwise. Oh, and when he found it he said it was lying in the rocks, with a large rock on it's head even. I wondered if it had had a seizure and somehow flipped a rock upon it's head in doing so? Anybody got an idea what could have happened to it? I know poisoning is also a possibility as some folks down the road despise the existence of them in the neighborhood.

 

[FLTENNHUNTER1]

Dang right could have rabies...

 

[MUP]

He handled it by the tail moving it away with bare hands. The neighbor came down and asked if anyone touched it and then told them to all to wash their hands thoroughly.

 

[MUP]

We haven't noticed any of them acting disoriented or strange lately. There was a big male that we've seen a couple times the last few days cruising thru. Would a grown male try to kill the kits sired by another male if it found them?

 

[Planking]

Probably playing around and knocked that rock over on him. Rabies would certainly be a concern. I know of a lady that was my cousins neighbor that got killed by her mule that contracted it.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Don't know about that situation, we had a female grey fox dead in our pasture back over the winter. I had cows calving and figure the fox was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and a momma cow might have stomped it. Guess my point is, without seeing what happened it is hard to know for sure what causes a wild animal like that to die. Could have been sick or could have been something else.

 

[MUP]

He's got cameras all over the place, they're reviewing their video files to see if they can find anything.

 

[Hduke86]

Could’ve been overheating since it was so dang hot outside

 

[Wrangler95]

Could have contracted parvo or rabies!

 

[Snake]

Snake bite also could have happened , who knows .

 

[Gronkmonster]

Monkey pox

 

[MUP]

No marks or swelling to indicate snake bite. No water source nearby and it's been very dry here so good have been dehydrated. No foaming at the mouth. I just looked out and saw one of the other kits out looking around. Just strange.

 

[fairchaser]

Sounds like it could have been just out from the liter on its first adventure and ran into trouble. The mortality rate for young foxes is probably incredibly high. It could have been a hawk tried to nab it.

 

[MUP]

They're a few months old, probably nearly a foot tall now, not little by any means. I'd say they're not far from going out on their own now.

 

[MUP]

I keep wondering if that big male had anything to do with it.

 

[DaveB]

Hard to say what killed it but young ones die easy.