A four-week-old fox cub has been saved from death after an eagle-eyed council ranger spotted the youngster lying on a railway line in Falkirk.
Fiona Wishart was working in the area with a Police Scotland wildlife crime officer on Tuesday when they stumbled across the tiny ball of fur lying motionless in the rain.
They initially feared the baby had died after being exposed to the elements for too long until they noticed him taking a shallow breath.
The cub was scooped up and kept warm in a fleece jacket until he could be collected by the Scottish SPCA, who are now caring for him at their centre in Fishcross, near Alloa.
A spokesperson for the animal charity said: “Vixens can often move their cubs to different dens and we think this vixen may have been spooked and dropped the cub and gone to hide.
“Vixens will often come back for their young once they no longer feel threatened and that’s why we’d always ask members of the public to leave cubs be and keep an eye from a safe distance.
“However, this cub was cold and wet with croaky breathing so we had to bring him to our wildlife centre to be checked.
“Thankfully, he doesn’t appear to have any injuries and he’s just a month old. He will be looked after by our team until he’s old enough to be released.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
