More than 120 people turned out for a charity run in the male pup’s honour yesterday morning, reportedly raising $2,200 in the preserve’s quest to build it a shelter.

Participants chose between a 2.5- and five-kilometre walk or run, with the top three finishers consisting of Brittany Pearson (21:08), Kyle Lavoie (21:32) and Mathieu Rondel (22:08).

A total of 121 runners and walkers took to the routes through the preserve at 10 a.m., starting their races to the sound of a cow moose call.

The real winner was the fox, however, as the $2,200 added yesterday brought the total funds raised for his shelter up to $7,500.

The preserve is aiming to raise a total of $10,000 before the end of the month to build a fox enclosure on site.

While messages left at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve went unreturned this morning, posts left on the organization’s Facebook page indicated staff were “blown away by the crowd” which was treated to “gorgeous weather.”

Many of the runners were reportedly “distracted” by the young fox, who was kept occupied in a temporary pasture by animal care staffer Justine Benjamin in what was his first public appearance.

The fox has been something of a sensation since it was initially found abandoned in Marsh Lake.

Discovered by a resident on the Easter long weekend in April, it took some time before the young canine was officially determined to be a fox.

In a recent interview with the Star, the preserve’s executive director Greg Meredith said the total cost of building a permanent fox enclosure at the facility will cost about $20,000.

However, with staff volunteering to build it, about $5,000 will come off the final price tag.

Meredith stated that if staff were able to raise $10,000 before the end of August, he would pull $5,000 from the preserve’s reserves in order to get the structure built.

However, in the case that the money isn’t raised by the imposed deadline, the fox and the funds raised will head to an accredited family-run facility in Ontario.

If the Yukon enclosure gets the green light, Meredith said the preserve will acquire more foxes and develop a program around the sly creatures.

“There are a lot of positive educational and interpretive benefits from having red foxes as part of our program,” he told the Star. “You can have a lot of interpretive things: what the difference is between a red fox and an Arctic fox ... what the various foxes eat and where they are in the food chain and all that kind of stuff.”

Potential donors are encouraged to visit canadahelps.org/dn/16008.

Run Wild is an annual family fun race held on Discovery Day at the Yukon Wildlife

Preserve to raise funds for wildlife research, rehabilitation and education.

Last year, 18 runners took part in the event, which is sanctioned by Athletics Yukon.

The preserve features more than 10 species of northern Canadian mammals in their natural environment.