The sly red fox who burrowed her way out of the Staten Island Zoo last week is safe and sound at home thanks to a little help from the community.
Eight-month old Helena was trapped about 1.5 miles from the zoo Sunday night near the corner of Portland Place and Stanley Avenue in Brighton Heights after several sightings by local residents, zoo officials said.
“The community really got involved,” said Staten Island Zoo spokesman Brian Morris. “Apparently she was brazen enough to stay visible”
Morris said the zoo received about 30 calls a day from people all over the area claiming to have seen Helena since she burrowed out of her enclosure last Monday, but none proved to be credible.
“The first positive sighting of this animal was Wednesday when a family noticed her near Portland Place and Stanley Avenue,” Morris said.
But when zoo employees showed up and tried to corner the animal, Helena became frightened and ran off into the woods.
Marion Land was one of the many Brighton Heights residents who spotted Helena on multiple occasions and altered zoo staff.
“My neighbor said he spotted the fox in his backyard so I wasn’t surprised when I saw her because I knew she was in the area,” said Land, 59. “She was so cute.”
After receiving two more calls Friday from people claiming to have spotted the fox at that same location, Morris said his team laid a trap in the hopes that Helena would take the bait.
Sure enough, she did, and was picked up by zoo staff around 7 p.m. Sunday.
“She must have felt at home there for some reason because she kept showing up to the same spot,” Land said. “I kind of felt sorry for her. A fox in a cage is a little sad.”
“Its probably better this way,” she added. “I don’t know if she could have survived out there on her own.”
Zoo officials said Helena appeared a little nervous but, overall, seems happy to be home.
“She appears to be totally healthy,” Morris said, adding that the fox is currently quarantined in the zoo’s nursery as a precaution. “We were very worried about her.”