This little guy outfoxed border patrol.
A tiny red fox conned his way into a free trip to the US last month after slinking into a cargo boat shipping out from England.
The clever stowaway has been living the American Dream at the Bronx Zoo since his daring trip, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced Thursday.
A red fox made its way onto a cargo ship that traveled from England to New York. AP“He seems to be settling in well,” Keith Lovett, the zoo’s director of animal programs, told the Associated Press.
“It’s gone through a lot.”
It’s still a mystery just how the red fox made its way onto the M/V Tijuca, an automobile cargo ship, that sailed out of Southampton, England, on Feb. 4.
It’s also not yet clear how deep into the 14-day journey the stowaway was discovered — or how the critter survived out on the open water.
The United States Customs and Border Protection wrangled the animal upon the ship’s arrival to the Port of New York and New Jersey on Feb. 18 and brought the animal to the Bronx Zoo the following day.
“CBP routinely works with our federal and state wildlife protection partners to protect regulated wildlife and is pleased to place this ‘stowaway’ in the Bronx Zoo’s care,” a spokesperson told The Post.
The zoo said the male fox appears healthy after early examinations. Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesThe not-yet-named fox has been living in the zoo’s Animal Health Center, where it is being treated and examined after its arduous journey, though preliminary evaluations show that he appears to be in good condition.
The red fox weighs about 11 pounds, which puts it squarely in the average weight class for a healthy adult male.
The Bronx Zoo has not yet decided where the little fox will go after the veterinary team determines he is healthy, but the sanctuary teased that it would work to identify an “appropriate long-term home for the animal.”
There are no red foxes currently on exhibit at the Bronx Zoo.
Red foxes are native to North America — and wild populations of the tiny critters are known to live in parts of the Bronx and Staten Island.
Known for their reddish coat and white-tipped bushy tail, red foxes are nocturnal and can run up to 26 mph in short bursts.
They munch on a highly flexible diet that can include rodents, birds, insects, fruit, and other available food sources.
