Joe Judge and David Kavana expected an ordinary morning of clearing fallen trees from a public park.
Instead, they noticed a small fox running through the area with something covering its entire head.
The two employees from the Middletown Township Department of Public Works initially struggled to understand what they were seeing. As the animal came closer, they realized that its head was trapped inside a plastic peanut butter jar.
The young fox could not see where it was going. It could not eat or drink, and every attempt to pull away only pushed its head deeper into the container.
The workers stopped what they were doing and moved carefully toward it.
The fox did something rescuers did not expect
Wild foxes usually avoid people, particularly when frightened.
This cub behaved differently.
Rather than running deeper into the park, the young animal moved toward the workers. Joe later said the fox seemed to understand that the men were trying to help.
He approached slowly and managed to hold the cub securely without causing further panic. David then grasped the peanut butter jar and began twisting it.
The container was tightly wedged around the fox’s head, so pulling it away required patience. One sudden movement could have injured the animal’s neck or caused it to bite in fear.
After several careful attempts, the jar finally came free.
Its mother was watching nearby
The workers noticed an adult fox in the area while they were helping the cub.
They believed it may have been the young animal’s mother, remaining close while her cub struggled with the container.
Once the jar was removed, the baby fox appeared unharmed and was allowed to leave. The workers later returned to the park hoping to locate the fox family again, but they were unable to find them.
The cub had escaped without visible injuries, despite not knowing how long its head had been trapped inside the jar.
A discarded food container became a wildlife trap
The plastic jar was probably attractive because of the smell and traces of peanut butter left inside.
Young foxes are curious and may push their heads into discarded food containers while searching for something to eat. Once the head passes through a narrow opening, the shape of the container can make it difficult or impossible for the animal to pull free.
Without intervention, the cub could have died from dehydration, starvation, overheating or suffocation.
Middletown Township shared photographs of the rescue and reminded residents to dispose of rubbish properly to protect local wildlife.
The workers were not trained wildlife rescuers
Joe had worked for the township for approximately 11 years, but he said he had never encountered anything like this incident.
He had previously helped rescue ducks from a drain, yet freeing a baby fox from a peanut butter jar was entirely different.
The men did not have specialist wildlife equipment with them. They relied on calm movements, cooperation and the unusual willingness of the cub to allow them close.
Their decision to stop immediately may have saved its life.
Small changes can prevent similar incidents
Wildlife organizations often advise rinsing food containers and securing lids before throwing them away.
Plastic jars, cans, cups and food packaging can retain smells that attract foxes, raccoons, hedgehogs and other animals. Containers with narrow openings are especially dangerous because an animal may be able to push its head inside but cannot reverse the movement.
Cutting open certain plastic containers, crushing cans and keeping waste inside closed bins can reduce the risk.
For this fox cub, help arrived before the discarded jar became fatal.
The workers had entered Delaware Park to remove fallen trees.
They left having removed something much smaller, but far more dangerous, from the head of a frightened wild animal.
