#juniper fox

Your honor they're in love

Meet Juniper Fox and say hello to Mercury again!

@sonic-mini-showdown

We Are All Fans of Juniper Fox

BY CAROLYN TURGEON

You’ve probably heard of Juniper Fox. With her nearly 3 million Instagram fans and personal line of products that include T-shirts, pins, and stickers, not to mention her very own celebrity bio, Juniper: The Happiest Fox, she might be the most famous and sought-after red fox in existence. She even has a full-time personal assistant, Jessika Coker, who manages her social media and various business ventures and also feeds her and her brethren every single day. Because Juniper is too in demand to answer press queries and probably busy lying on her back loudly howling, Coker kindly stepped in to answer the following penetrating questions.

Enchanted Living: How did you come to be Juniper’s owner/caretaker/mama? Jessika Coker: Juniper came from a small family-owned farm where they had a litter of ranched fox kits. Ranched foxes are descended from animals used in the fur trade. They’re not considered wild animals because of the differences in their genetic makeup, and for those born in captivity their options are usually to become a pet or to be pelted for their fur. This family was looking for homes for Juniper and her siblings. When I saw they needed a home, I felt inclined to take one, since I knew how to care for them from past experience at wildlife centers.

EL: What are the joys and challenges with her? JC: Juniper is quite a character and never fails to bring a smile to my face. She is extremely loving, and we have a bond beyond what I have ever had with a dog or cat. Foxes are very outwardly emotional animals and that can be both a good and bad thing. When she’s happy it’s blatant—it’s all over her face. She smiles, makes cooing sounds, wags her tail, and wants to be smothered with love and affection. When she’s upset it’s just as apparent. She will scream at the top of her lungs if the other foxes are bothering her; you can almost look at her and see her brows furrowed from frustration. Being such an emotional animal presents its challenges. With the foxes it’s impossible to make them do something they do not want to do, and any disturbance to their normal routine can throw them off for days. They’re not conventional pets, and the level of destruction they can cause to a home is ghastly. They’re loud, rambunctious, and smelly. Something most people don’t know is that fox urine is so pungent, it’s often used as scent cover for hunters! Having that smell in the house means constant cleaning and candles.