Visitors can see Roxy the ‘Ice Age’ red fox for a limited time in Vernal; catch her before she is stored

Related video: 26,000-year-old ‘Ice Age’ fox recovered in Uinta Mountains cave

VERNAL, Utah (ABC4) — The Ice Age red fox skeleton recovered from a cave in the Uinta Mountains last year is now on display for a limited time.

According to a press release from the Utah Division of State Parks, Roxy — whose name was voted on in a museum poll — is currently on exhibit at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. Her first day out on the museum floor was Aug. 26, the first anniversary of when she was collected from the cave.

Roxy’s skeleton will be on display for the next six months, then they will be stored in the “more controlled” conditions of the Utah Field House’s collections facility. While the red fox is on display, the museum team is working to make sure that she is kept in good condition.

“We still keep the storage room Roxy is in as close to 72°F and 15-25% humidity as we can,” Utah Field House’s John Foster is quoted in the release. “Once she is in a warmer and drier climate than the cave, the key is consistency from then on, too.”

When Roxy was being removed from the Whiterocks Cave, nine museum and Forest Service scientists and cavers spent roughly six hours navigating the cave and collecting Roxy’s skeleton. Afterward, the bones had to be dried “very slowly over several months” to preserve their condition.

“The temperature and humidity of the part of the cave the skeleton was found in have been a steady 40°F and nearly 100%, respectively, probably for thousands of years. The process of acclimating the bones to warmer, drier, and more fluctuating conditions outside the cave took some time,” the press release reads.

Museum staff are still researching the roughly 26,400-year-old skeleton, and are currently working to 3D scan and print some of the bones. They plan to get a more refined carbon date and DNA analysis that will help them learn more about Roxy.

In the meantime, anyone who wants to see Roxy in person and learn more about this unique Ice Age specimen is invited to visit the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum over the next six months.

“It is a great opportunity to view an extraordinary fossil from the ice ages that took a lot of effort to collect,” Utah Field House Park Manager Steve Sroka is quoted.