A White Fox Cub?

 Another unusual case this time dealt with by Wildlife Aid:

https://www.facebook.com/WildlifeAid

Last week, an unexpected sight arrived: a white fox cub. Despite our forty years of experience, encountering such a uniquely coloured fox cub was a first. However, the cub was in a very poorly state, having been found collapsed and barely responsive.

After giving him time to warm up, the cub was administered supportive fluids; he also managed to consume a small amount of oral rehydration, but with little energy. Recognising the need for continuous monitoring, we put him in the care of one of our experienced fosterers, but, heart-breakingly, despite a brief moment of improvement, the cub passed away, 48 hours later.

Our vet team carried out a post-mortem on the cub, where they discovered further abnormalities, including severe anaemia and a completely white liver, something our experienced vet had not encountered before. We are aware of the possibility of "Fever coat" or "Stress coat" occurring in some cubs, where extreme stress and illness in the vixen, during pregnancy, can impair melanin deposition in the fur of her foetuses, however, with other irregularities, we suspect the cub was suffering from congenital issues.

The reasoning behind some of the genetic variations we see in wildlife is often a mystery within our field. Evolutionary adaptations are recognised as such when a genetic mutation benefits an animal. This can be in the form of colour, size, or even shape. Conversely, mutations that harm an animal are often labelled as genetic disorders. The environment significantly impacts the occurrence of genetic mutations in animals and, with the rapidly changing landscape due to human expansion, it is uncertain whether these differences could be advantageous or harmful to the animal. Sadly, for this cub, it was the latter.

I added, because I am That person:

"Actually white foxes were not that rare. You still see them today but sadly they are good targets for idiots with guns who want something "rare" to sell. There are a lot of taxidermy from the UK of white foxes and even Medieval illustrations show white foxes. Sad that this one did not make it but there were well known white foxes in a certain city up to a year ago."