She Rescued Foxes. The Internet Couldn’t Save Her.
YouTuber Mikayla Raines, founder of SaveAFox Rescue, dies by suicide after enduring years of online harassment.
Los Angeles, June 25: Mikayla Raines didn’t set out to become a YouTube star. She wasn’t chasing clout or endorsements. She just really, truly loved foxes. The kind of love that makes you open a nonprofit in rural Minnesota to rescue them from fur farms. The kind of love that turns your life into a daily stream of muddy paws, squeaky barks, and heartbreak.
And yet, with over 2.4 million subscribers, her little sanctuary project, SaveAFox Rescue, somehow became one of the warmest corners of the internet—until the internet turned on her.
Now, Mikayla’s sudden death by suicide has sent shockwaves through a fanbase that saw her as something rare: a creator who showed up with no makeup, no agenda, just feral animals and feral honesty. Her husband, Ethan Raines, confirmed her passing in a raw Instagram video on June 23, saying she died “a couple days ago” after what he described as a long battle with mental health and online cruelty.
“She couldn’t bear what she was feeling any longer,” he said through tears.
A Different Kind of Influencer
Let’s be clear—Mikayla was not your average lifestyle vlogger. She didn’t sell protein powder or tell you how to manifest. She posted videos of herself bottle-feeding rescued kits, giving bubble baths to blind foxes, explaining why foxes make terrible pets, and occasionally, letting them steal the show with chaos only nature could script.
That authenticity made her a cult favorite—especially among the Gen Z and millennial crowd tired of curated perfection. Think: cottagecore meets wildlife rehab with a hint of Tumblr-era earnestness.
But what looked idyllic from the outside was something much more fragile behind the screen. Mikayla was neurodivergent, open about her diagnoses of autism and borderline personality disorder, and struggled to navigate a world that rarely makes room for nuance—especially online.
When Kindness Isn’t Clickproof
By all accounts, Mikayla wasn’t “canceled” in the traditional sense. She was just… harassed. Relentlessly. Over her appearance. Over her emotions. Over her methods. Over things no one should have to defend, least of all someone who dedicated her life to saving animals society threw away.
Ethan said some of the cruelty came from people who were once close to her. Some of it came from the usual trolls. But all of it stuck. “She was one of the most selfless people I have ever known,” he said. And still, it wasn’t enough to shield her.
If this is sounding familiar, it should. From YouTube burnout to streamer breakdowns, the creator economy’s emotional tax is no longer an open secret—it’s just openly ignored.
Grief in the Comment Section
Since Ethan’s video went live, the internet has been in mourning. Fans, fellow creators, and animal rights advocates have flooded her channels with tributes. Her foxes—Mikayla’s most consistent co-stars—are now symbols of a mission that still matters, even if its founder is gone.
On TikTok, users are reposting their favorite “fox scream” clips and stitching together montages of her happiest moments. On Reddit, longtime followers are organizing fundraisers to keep SaveAFox running. On Twitter, the grief has turned into anger: “How many more creators have to die before platforms take bullying seriously?”
Legacy, In Living Color
Mikayla had a goal before she died: rescue 500 foxes. That mission hasn’t stopped. Ethan says he plans to keep SaveAFox alive, not just in memory of Mikayla—but because it’s what she would’ve wanted.
And here’s the twist: despite all this tragedy, the internet that failed her in life might just be rallying in death. Donations to SaveAFox are climbing. Conversations about creator mental health are louder. And for the first time in a long time, some of the worst parts of the algorithm are being forced to look in the mirror.
The girl who made foxes go viral might end up changing the system that made being vulnerable so damn dangerous.
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A former college-level cricketer and lifelong sports enthusiast, Arun Upadhayay brings the heart of an athlete to the sharp eye of a journalist. With firsthand experience in competitive sports and a deep understanding of team dynamics, Arun covers everything from grassroots tournaments to high-stakes international showdowns. His reporting blends field-level grit with analytical precision, making him a trusted voice for sports fans across New Jersey and beyond.
