An arctic fox found wandering in Portland in October plays with a red ball at the Oregon Zoo in November 2024, ahead of its transfer to a zoo in Wisconsin.
Eliza Lee / Courtesy of Oregon Zoo
An arctic fox that was found lost and dirty in Portland last month will soon have a new home — and a new companion.
The animal, nicknamed “Foxy” by some of her caretakers, will head to the Midwest on Thursday. The Oschner Park Zoo in Baraboo, Wisconsin, has agreed to house her with its resident male arctic fox, Apollo.
Foxy was captured on Oct. 12 in Willamette Park, a few days after several people — including an OPB employee — spotted her wandering alone along nearby trolley tracks.
The Bird Alliance of Oregon initially took her in, and staff there confirmed that she is an Arctic fox, about six and a half pounds and 35 inches from nose to tail. She was hungry and dehydrated after several days lost, but appeared to have been cared for until she was separated from her previous guardian.
Bird Alliance staff said she appears to have been domesticated and kept as a pet — which is illegal in Oregon. They vowed to work with wildlife officials to seek an appropriate long-term home for her. The Oregon Department of Agriculture helped connect the arctic fox with the zoo where she’ll next be housed.
Since Friday, Foxy has been staying at the Oregon Zoo ahead of her transfer to Wisconsin.
“She spent the weekend hopping over logs, foraging for her diet and practicing being a fox,” Kate Gilmore, who oversees the zoo’s ambassador animal area, said in an emailed statement.
“It’s wonderful to see her thriving, but this fox should never have been a pet,” Gilmore said. “Like many wild animals that wind up in the illegal pet trade, arctic foxes have complex care needs that can only be met by people with specialized training at licensed and properly equipped facilities.”