NEW YORK – When a little red fox arrived in the Port of New York and New Jersey in February, it was well out of place: It had travelled about 5,800km from England by sea after stowing away among thousands of cars on a huge cargo ship.
The fox, a male estimated to be two years old, was soon at the Bronx Zoo, where he appeared healthy but was to stay in quarantine until definitively deemed fit.
It turned out he needed treatment for a potentially fatal parasite called French heartworm, which is common to wild foxes and domestic dogs in Europe but rare in the US.
On May 22, after about three months of treatment, officials declared him fully healthy.
They also announced that the animal, initially known at the zoo as just “the red fox”, had gotten a name: Basil (rhymes with “dazzle,” as in his homeland).
Officials at the zoo, where staff members have experience rescuing wildlife that has been illegally trafficked into local ports and airports, said in March that they did not plan to name the fox.
He was probably going to leave for an animal sanctuary or another permanent home post-quarantine, they said, and he would get a name there.
But the quarantine period lasted “a little longer” than usual because of the parasite, Mr Craig Piper, the zoo’s interim director, said in an interview.
As time passed, Mr Piper said, the fox’s keepers gave Basil his moniker, and “it stuck with him”.
The inspiration for the name is unclear, Mr Piper said.
It may simply be a tribute to his status as a native of England, or a reference to the title character of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers or a nod to Basil Brush, a glove puppet fox from British children’s television.
Whatever the case, Basil it is.
The parasite that extended Basil’s quarantine, known formally as Angiostrongylus vasorum, was diagnosed during a comprehensive veterinary evaluation at the zoo’s Wildlife Health Center, according to a news release.
Unlike the heartworm more commonly associated with domestic dogs and cats in the US, French heartworm infects blood vessels in the lungs of wild members of the dog family and can cause severe respiratory disease if untreated, the release said.
Basil received three types of deworming medicine in a month, the release said.
Several rounds of diagnostic testing were done to confirm that the infection had been successfully cleared.
The fox weighed 5kg when he arrived at the zoo. After living on a diet that included apples, sweet potatoes, insects and mice, he was up to nearly 6.4kg as at last week.
While being treated, Basil “developed a fuller and shinier coat and demonstrated strong overall health”, according to the release, which added that staff members had “noted a dramatic improvement” in his appearance.
Zoo officials are still considering options for Basil’s permanent home, and a decision could take several months, Mr Piper said.
He could remain at the zoo, which does not have a red fox on display, or he could still wind up somewhere else.
In the meantime, Basil remains outside public view. Mr Piper said he “looks great” and is “very bright” and “curious,” which, he added, “is not common for foxes – they can be aloof at times.”
It will almost certainly never be known how Basil found his way onto that ship.
Regardless, Mr Piper said that “he’s had a very unique adventure”. NYTIMES
