An English student has found a foxy new member of her family - a baby vixen she discovered on her farm.
Nineteen year-old Gemma Holdway discovered the baby fox cub, along with four others inside the hay on her family's farm in Somerset.
The family was afraid the babies would die after their mother failed to return, so they took them in with the intention of giving them to an animal hospital so they could eventually be released back into the wild, reports Metro.
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However, the runt of the litter ended up imprinting on Gemma and her boyfriend, Dan. Imprinting is when an animal forms an attachment to its parent - or what it thinks is its parent.
Gemma, an animal science and management student, decided to hand-rear the fox, now called Vixey, alongside her four dogs, reports Metro. She feeds, bathes and walks Vixey.
She says she knows Vixey is an uncommon pet.
"I completely understand she's still a wild animal, and is very independent, but I also know that now she has imprinted onto humans and may end up being hurt if she went off on her own," Ms Holdway told Metro.
Gemma says Vixey has plenty of room to explore on their land which has now been "fox-proofed" so she can't escape, and predators can't get in.
As for Vixey's brothers and sisters, three were released back into the wild and one has been domesticated like Vixey.
Newshub.
