A reddish-brown fox with a white underbelly, interacting in an outdoor garden setting with grass, fallen leaves, and trees during autumn. 4:36
Wildlife Aid channel icon Wildlife AidOriginal creator 886K views Save

Freeing a red fox from a tangled washing line

A fox is stuck in a garden, his leg caught in a green line that is wound around a small tree. When wildlife rescuer Simon Cowell walks up, he starts talking before he starts cutting. more

"All right, fella. I know. You're well stuck," he says, in a soft voice he keeps up the whole way through. He expects a bite. "You're going to be bitey, aren't you?" Then he looks over the tangle. The line has the fox caught in more than one spot.

A red fox peers around a small tree trunk wrapped in green tape, on grassy ground. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
The fox is caught in a green line wound around a small tree in the garden.

The fox is told to have a bit of a snooze while Simon checks for damage. What he finds is just a scrape, nothing to worry about. The harder problem is the line itself. It's a washing line with a braided metal core, and that kind is always tough to cut.

So the job turns into a balancing act. Simon has to keep the wire tight, cut through it and stay clear of the fox's teeth, all at once, with a second rescuer helping. A glove is offered and turned down. "I like to feel what I'm doing."

A man in a cap and jacket leans over, working on green rope tied around wooden sticks outdoors. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Simon works the line loose while keeping it tight and his fingers away from the fox's teeth.

Bit by bit, the line comes away. "That's off, that's off." Then he finds one more strand running up around the fox's body, and he admits this is the wrong equipment for the job. He also has a polite request for his patient: "Please don't bite me, 'cause I should be very cross."

The leg is a bit burned up, but Simon doesn't think anything is too wrong with it. Then the last of the line comes off. "Now, fella, I think you're free," he says. All four legs work, and there's no blood anywhere.

A reddish-brown fox with a white underbelly, interacting in an outdoor garden setting with grass, fallen leaves, and trees during autumn. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
A fox is stuck in a garden, his leg caught in a green line that is wound around a small tree.

"Go home," he tells the fox. "Just like that." The fox bolts back into the woods as if nothing had happened.

Afterward Simon is glad that nothing was tight around the fox's neck. It's that time of year, he says, when a fox like this one probably has a family to feed, or will very soon.

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