Arctic creature found roaming Oregon won’t be going back north. What’s her next step?

An Arctic creature spotted roaming around an Oregon city last month won't be sent back north, a nonprofit said.

Instead, the white fox will be turned over to a facility when wildlife officials can find one, Bird Alliance of Oregon said in a Nov. 8 Facebook post.

The Arctic fox with puppy-like features "stole and broke hearts when people learned her story," the nonprofit said.

She was discovered in southeastern Portland, near Sellwood Bridge, the group's spokesperson Ali Berman told McClatchy News by email in October.

"Arctic foxes don't naturally occur in Oregon , so this species is considered an exotic animal here," the nonprofit said in a previous Facebook post.

The fox was taken in by the nonprofit, which determined she had likely been dumped by her owner.

Since then, she is "doing well, and is in great health," the wildlife group said.

However, because the animal was held in captivity all of her life, she wouldn't survive in the wild on her own in the Arctic tundra, the nonprofit said.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture is working to find an accredited facility where she can live permanently.

In the meantime, this fox has proven to be smart and food-motivated, the nonprofit said. She found all 12 mice in a large enclosed area the first time she was put in it.

She also loves to climb and "is very good at it, even with those tiny paws," the group said.

Arctic foxes are typically found in areas north of the Arctic Circle, including Canada, Russia, Greenland and Iceland, according to Wisconsin's Racine Zoo.

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