‘Not a morning person’: Sweep the fox takes TikTok by storm as 2025’s cutest animal to date

For over a decade, man has pondered the eternal question, “what does the fox say?” But maybe we’ve been looking at it all wrong and should have been asking, “where does the fox sleep?” Yup, TikTok is currently cooing over Sweep the fox, a new social media sensation with an unparalleled capacity for photogenic adorable-ness.

Sweep is now the star of an incredibly viral video posted by the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, showing a volunteer with the enviable job of waking Sweep from sleepytime. Titled, “When you’re not a morning person”, they find a snoozy Sweep swaddled in a blanket and yawning sweetly. Realizing that this particular fox could use a couple more hours in dreamland, the volunteer provides her favorite plushie and tucks her back to sleep:

Sweep’s story is equal parts heartwarming and inspiring. She was originally brought into the wildlife sanctuary at death’s door seven years ago as a cub. Suspecting that she’d been poisoned, sanctuary owner Geoff Grewcock feared the worst, but began gradually nursing her back to health. As he explained:

“When we first got her, we didn’t think there was much hope. She was so lethargic and ill that I had to bottle-feed her for months, and was up at night injecting Sweep with saline. Luckily, after medication and some good TLC, she pulled through and here she is seven years later.”

Now the two are inseparable. Due to her close bond with humans Sweep now can’t be re-released into the wild, so she’s become the unofficial mascot of the sanctuary, keeping the other animals undergoing treatment company.

She needs hugs!

But she reserves her deepest affection for the man who saved her life. In a 2024 interview, Geoff described her as “such a lovely, friendly fox” who loves attention: “most people can give her a stroke, but she is definitely closest with me and insists on us having a hug every day. I think it’s her way of saying thank you for all the looking-after we do for her.”

That was backed up by wildlife YouTuber James Cook, who visited the two last year. He reported: Sweep is just totally in love with Geoff. The pair were hugging for about 10 minutes when I was there.”

Sweep is unusual in that foxes are wild animals, generally resist being domesticated, and don’t make good pets. That said, some people who find them sneaking into their gardens at night develop something of a bond with their nocturnal visitors, with some even leaving out bowls of dog food to ensure they don’t go hungry. Here’s hoping Sweep and Geoff have many more happy years in each others’ arms/paws.