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Runaway Baby Red Fox Returned to Staten Island Zoo

By Nicholas Rizzi | December 2, 2013 3:34pm
 The runaway baby red fox, Helena, was trapped and returned to the Staten Island Zoo on Dec. 1, 2013.
The runaway baby red fox, Helena, was trapped and returned to the Staten Island Zoo on Dec. 1, 2013.
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WEST BRIGHTON — The baby red fox that escaped from the Staten Island Zoo last week has been captured and returned home, zoo officials said on Monday.

The 7-month old fox was trapped by zoo staff on Sunday night in Brighton Heights, said Brian Morris, spokesman for the zoo.

"Thanks to the community and our dedicated staff, Helena is safely back with her zoo family," Morris said in a statement.

The fox was part of a pair of 7-month-old females adopted by the zoo in July. Zoo officials originally the escaped fox was the one named Montana, but clarified on Monday that it was the other of the pair, named Helena.

Helena burrowed out of her enclosure last week, and Morris said the zoo received dozens of sightings of the fox from residents after putting out a notice of her escape last Wednesday.

Staten Island resident Craig Daniels posted a picture of the captured fox on Twitter and said she spent days in a wooded lot next to his home.

Daniels did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. 

The 7-month-old fox weighs 10 pounds and is about the size of a house cat. She was raised in captivity for all but the first three weeks of her life and was hand-fed by Staten Island Zoo veterinarians in their nursery, Morris said.