A week or so after being moved from the Oregon Zoo to the Ochsner Park Zoo in Wisconsin, the Arctic fox that was initially seen close to the Sellwood Bridge and then caught in Portland in October is now ill with salmon poisoning.
About a week after her transfer, Ochsner Park Zoo employees noted that Luna was eating less and becoming less active. After testing, physicians at University of Wisconsin Veterinary Care determined that she had salmon poisoning, the zoo stated in a statement.
According to a statement from the Ochsner Park Zoo, the illness, which is prevalent in the Pacific Northwest, is brought on by a bacterial infection from consuming raw salmon that carries a parasitic flatworm. The zoo thinks Luna was infected while she was on the free in Portland; it can harm the kidney and liver.
The disease primarily affects dogs and cannot infect humans or cats.
After four days, the fox was able to leave the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Care center after receiving treatment from veterinarians for the infection. According to the Ochsner Park Zoo, she is still recuperating.
According to the zoo, the fox’s treatment came to almost $3,500, which was a significant expense for the organization at the conclusion of its fiscal year. Through the Baraboo, Wisconsin donation page, anyone can contribute to help pay for Luna’s medical expenses.
Arctic foxes are native to Alaska, Canada, the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland, the Bering Sea islands, and northern Russia. Although it is illegal to keep arctic foxes as pets in the United States unless a special permission is obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Luna most certainly had only ever known life in captivity.
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