Animal keepers at East Devon wildlife park Wildwood Escot have a new resident – and are launching a competition to find the perfect name for him.

Fans of the conservation charity will be able to vote in a poll on the charity’s Facebook and Twitter pages to help keepers choose from a shortlist of names for the four-year-old male arctic fox.

Everyone who votes will also be in with the chance of winning a feeding experience with the new arrival at Wildwood Escot when the park reopens.

The fox, who journeyed to the UK from Copenhagen Zoo, arrived at Escot this week and was met by delighted staff at the wildlife park, which is still in lockdown.

George Hyde, general manager, said: “We are so excited to welcome this new chap to our park and we can’t wait till we can reopen and he can meet our visitors. He’s in perfect shape and is already exploring his new surroundings with both curiosity and confidence. Now we just need a name for him!”

The arctic fox is native to Britain and lived here until the last ice age where it disappeared as the climate warmed.

In order to find a name for the newest resident, keepers at Wildwood Trust are calling on the public to help by voting in a poll to nominate the name they love.

George said: “We love our local visitors. We want them to know how much we value them and to feel like they are part of life at the park even though we can’t see them right now. We hope that by helping us to choose the perfect name for our newest resident, they will still feel connected to us at a time when they can’t visit us physically.”

As reported in the Herald earlier this month, like many other wildlife charities and animal parks, Wildwood Escot has struggled during lockdown and says it is “hanging on by a thread”. To donate to help the charity continue its vital conservation work and care for its animals during lockdown you can visit Wildwood’s donation page online.