STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Helena didn't need one or two weeks, or even three days, to return to her Staten Island Zoo home.

The red fox needed about a day in quarantine following her 6-day hiatus from the West Brighton location, according to a Zoo spokesman.

"She's back," said Brian Morris. "She's on display. She got a full clean bill of health."

Helena returned to her woodland enclosure within the Zoo Tuesday morning after a 24-hour stint in isolation that included a physical examination, blood work and additional testing to ensure the 7-month-old fox was in good standing to return to her public home.

"The tests came back very positive, as if she had stayed here all the time, as if there wasn't any time she was away," said Morris.

Zoo officials said Monday they expected Helena to remain in isolation for at least three days, and possibly up to two weeks.



Around 11:30 a.m., approximately 20 visitors were drawn to the vixen.

"She was a big attraction for visitors. Everybody came over to look at the fox. She got a lot of attention," the spokesman said.

Helena was captured safely more than a mile and a half away from the Zoo Sunday night, in a wooded lot by the intersection of Portland Place and Stanley Avenue in Brighton Heights.

The Zoo, via its Facebook page, shared a short video of Helena on Tuesday morning.