Sleepy fox napping on a tree brings joy to isolating family

Because of the coronavirus outbreak, we’re all confined to our homes in self-isolation. It can be difficult not being able to get out of the house, but the secret is to find happiness in the little things at home.

For many people, the plus side is they get to spend more time with their pets. But one couple with no pets of their own got an unexpected treat when a surprising animal decided to take a nap in their yard.

On March 17, a woman named Sara Ryan tweeted a photo her parents had taken: a fox, curled up asleep on top of a tree trunk:

Twitter/@SaraReneeRyan

The sleepy fox would’ve been an adorable sight at any time, but it had special meaning in the midst of the coronavirus.

“My dad was very excited!” Sara told The Dodo. “They’ve been social-distancing and don’t have pets, so I think they were excited to have something out of the ordinary in their yard!”

Twitter/@SaraReneeRyan

The nocturnal fox disappears at night to hunt, but always comes back to the same spot—clearly this is one comfortable tree trunk.

“The tree is protected by the garage behind it so it only faces my parents’ yard,” Sara explained. “I imagine that it’s a warm and safe place to nap!”

Twitter/@SaraReneeRyan

The photo has been retweeted over 85,000 times and has nearly half a million likes. Sara responded to the interest by posting more cute photos of the fox.

She’s thrilled people liked the photos, and thinks people responded to some positivity with everything going on.

It makes sense that people want a little slice of joy in the midst of a lot of stress and anxiety and chaos,” Sara told The Dodo.

“I’m glad that my one viral tweet was a cute tweet during a not very cute time.”

Twitter/@SaraReneeRyan

These kinds of adorable photos are helping people get through the currently health crisis. Spread the joy by sharing this story!