Mallory Harrigan, Cliff Russell, and Alan Russell are crab fishermen who operate their boat off the coast of Labrador, Canada. Recently, they had the opportunity to get up close and personal with an arctic fox, but only because it was in desperate need of rescue. Harrigan told “People” that on that particular day they had gotten a slow start because there was a lot of ice in the water.
After heading out to the fishing grounds and putting their gear in the water, they headed towards Pinsent’s Arm, a small coastal town of Newfoundland and Labrador, to get more fuel for their boat, The Northern Swan. As they headed towards the coast, they were about two and a half miles out when they noticed something on one of the many icebergs floating on the water. When they drew closer, they realized it was an animal — an arctic fox, to be exact.
There’s no way to know exactly why or how the fox got itself stuck on the iceberg, but it was most likely hunting for food. What Mallory was sure of was that there was no way that the fox could swim back to land and it wasn’t going to survive very long where it was stranded. It was clear that the animal was in desperate need of help, but the crew was a little reluctant to bring a wild animal on to the boat.
“He’s a wild animal and we didn’t know how he’d react,” Harrigan explained, “but we knew we were his only chance for survival.”
So, they decided to help the fox, but it wouldn’t be easy. Despite being stranded for who knows how long, the fox still has plenty of fight left. It was determined not to let the humans get close. Every time they closed in, it would scurry out of their reach. He was determined to get away. Finally, they broke off a piece of the ice, dropping the fox into the water. After tiring itself out swimming, they were able to scoop it up with a net and put it in the boat.
“He crawled into a corner and curled into a ball. We tried to feed him chips and crackers, whatever we had on hand, but he wouldn’t eat for a long time,” Harrigan said.
Once they reached the shore, they were able to make the fox a warm bed where it could rest. Eventually, it woke up and snacked on some Vienna sausages. After some food, water, and rest, the little fox was feeling better and they released it onto a small island near Pinsent’s Arm.
Watch the video below to see the fox released into his new home!
