Friends of the Island Fox

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2010-04-07T14:57:00.001-07:00

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Talking About Island Foxes

2010-03-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

What would an island fox say if it could talk?

That is the question Friends of the Island Fox V.P. of Education Keri Dearborn will be exploring on the EverGreen Show, an environmental education radio show produced for California State University, San Bernardino's Internet radio station.

Listen in and hear why the island fox is so important to the island ecosystems and what you can do to help endangered island foxes.

The EverGreen Show airs:

Tuesday, March 9 from 6-6:30 PM
and replays Thursday, March 11 from 6-6:30 PM.

CLICK HERE to Listen to the interview from CSUSB Coyote Radio

Friends of the Island Fox Funds #50

2010-01-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

Today is a Landmark Day.

Friends of the Island Fox is proud to announce the funding of our 50th radio collar!

Despite the difficult economic times, people like you have stepped forward to play an active role in saving the endangered island fox.

Radio collars play an important role in allowing biologists to track fox behavior, monitor fox health and determine threats to fox survival. Radio collar on fire fox

In 2000, four populations of island foxes teetered toward extinction. Why island fox's were endangered

Today, with your help and support, island fox populations are recovering. Current populations

Because island foxes live only on the Channel Islands, like all island species they are small populations that can be quickly impacted by the introduction of disease, ecosystem imbalance and potentially, climate change.

Your support of island fox conservation efforts is vital to the survival of this endangered California species.

As we begin 2010, Friends of the Island Fox thanks all of you for renewing your effort to insure that this keystone species survives into the future.

You can help fund additional radio collars, vaccinations and conservation efforts by CLICKING on the Donate Now buttons at the top of the page.

Give the Gift of Saving a Species

2009-12-08T20:10:00.001-08:00

photo courtesy of NPS volunteer Inge Rose

Across San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina Islands, island fox numbers are rising. Populations that hovered just above extinction, with just 15 individual animals, are climbing toward recovery.

This Holiday Season you can give the gift of helping support island fox recovery.

$250 funds a radio-collar for an island fox
To date Friends of the Island Fox has funded 47 radio-tracking collars for monitoring wild island foxes. Radio collars provide important information on island fox welfare, including the first information on threats from disease or golden eagle predation. Radio Collars.

When you sponsor a radio collar you receive information about an individual island fox, its history and current life in the wild. You are actively playing a role in island fox conservation.

$100 supports Friends of the Island Fox education programs in schools
This year alone, FIF provided FREE educational programs to 2,000 students from 3rd grade to college. The next generation is the vital connection to sustaining wild populations of island foxes. FIF in schools. Interaction with students and community.

$50 funds rabies and distemper vaccinations for 5 island foxes
Diseases transmitted from domestic pets or introduced animals pose a serious threat to island foxes. Each year island foxes are given Health Checks. In order to maintain viable populations in the face of another disease outbreak, 80 - 100 island foxes need to be vaccinated on all 6 islands.

You can play an active role in island fox recovery by donating to Friends of the Island Fox. Give a gift that makes a difference and helps to save the endangered island fox.

More on why the island fox is endangered.

How Can You Help the Island Fox?

2009-11-10T13:53:00.000-08:00

You don’t have to be on the Channel Islands to help the island fox and all of the wild creatures that live here in Southern California.

In September, volunteers from Friends of the Island Fox joined volunteers from the Channel Island Park Foundation to clean up trash on Santa Cruz Island. Through our joint efforts we picked up over 400 lbs. of debris that had washed up on the island or had been left behind by human activities.

Pieces of metal and glass pose a threat to the feet of wild animals. Fishing lures and cast off human items can be dangerous to island foxes. (See The Island Fox and The Fishing Hook)

Plastics that travel down gutters and storm drains to the sea are eaten by a wide range of animals. When these bits of plastic enter the food chain, they threaten not only animals, but humans as well. So the next time you see a piece of trash in the gutter or on the ground, don’t just walk on by. Stop and pick it up. Your simple act could save a young sea bird, a sea turtle or even an island fox.

Our thanks to the Island Fox Friends that participated in this year’s clean-up: Bob Colli, Keri Dearborn, Betty Dunbar, Michael Lawshé, Jerry Leach, Gerri Martin, Pat Meyer and Mary Renaker.

A special thank you to Carol Pillsbury of the Channel Island Park Foundation and Russell Galipeau of Channel Islands National Park for including FIF in this important event.

For MORE ways to HELP THE ISLAND FOX.

Images of Island Foxes

2009-09-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Photos of endangered island foxes are few and far between. This island fox in profile from Santa Cruz Island is courtesy of photographer Kevin Schafer.

Video of island foxes is even harder to come by. The following links will take you to video of and about Channel island foxes.

ARKive.org is an international library of images capturing the natural world. This remarkable resource links to Friends of the Island Fox and we are returning the compliment.

ARKive.org island fox page
http://www.arkive.org/island-fox/urocyon-littoralis/

Their video includes night vision of an island fox going into a sea gull colony and taking an egg.

Channel Islands National Park also has a slide show of island fox photos including pups.

CINP Island Fox page
http://www.nps.gov/chis/naturescience/island-fox.htm

Return to Santa Cruz Island

2009-09-15T18:53:00.001-07:00

In 2005, Kevin Pease encouraged his school to become the first Island Fox Ambassador School and they raised funds for one of Friends of the Island Fox's first radio collars.

During the summer of 2006, Kevin and his family went to Santa Cruz Island and he sent us his Island Journal complete with an island fox photo.

Santa Cruz Island 2006

Kevin returned to Santa Cruz Island again this summer and sent us the following update:

Santa Cruz Island Journal - Summer 2009

Not even after 5 minutes of having been on Santa Cruz Island did I see an island fox, casually strolling through the campgrounds. This reoccured every day for the seven days I was out there. Some days there would be multiple foxes together, looking for food or picking a fight with the skunks. I would have to say though the last night there was the best. Venturing out at around 10 PM for a night hike, I came across two adults and about three pups. The pups were curious, running up and sitting in front of my feet staring up at me, it was a wonderful experience. What was remarkable and joyous about this trip was the difference in population. On the first trip to the islands I saw few foxes but now, they are all over the place. The hard efforts to help these foxes is really showing! - Kevin

In 2007 the island foxes on Santa Cruz Island were all returned to the wild. Recovery Milestone in 2007

A major factor in the rapid recovery of the endangered island fox has been the active participation of school children and community members in island fox conservation efforts.

You can help support island fox conservation by contributing to Friends of the Island Fox.

During Fall health checks, funds are needed to vaccinate wild island foxes against rabies and distemper. Funds are also needed to radio collar island foxes to monitor the health of the population.

Island Foxes by Any Other Name

2009-07-24T14:17:00.001-07:00

photo courtesy Kevin Schafer

Island foxes (Urocyon littoralis) are unique to the Channel Islands off the coast of southern California. But as we travel to different schools and communities we have run across a variety of names for foxes.

Foxes are the most diverse group of canines with various species found all over the world. There are arctic foxes that turn white in winter to blend in with the arctic snow. There are kit foxes and fennec foxes, adapted for deserts in North America and Africa, respectively. The red fox is found world wide (some populations being natural and others introduced by people).

Because various kinds of foxes are found all over the world, a word for fox appears in many languages. Here are a few that students have provided:

zorro - Spanish
daeb - Arabic
Yu woo - Korean
renard - French
fuchs - German
volpe - Italian

Foxes belong to the subfamily of animals called canines which includes wolves, dingos, African wild dogs, jackals, coyotes and domestic dogs. Canines originally evolved in North America. Many of the canines that we know today, however, are members of the family that migrated from North America to other parts of the world millions of years ago. Even the gray wolf is from a line of canines that migrated to Asia and then returned to North America.

The coyote (Canis latrans) and the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), the ancestor of the island fox, never left North America. They are ancient species that lived side-by-side with saber-toothed cats and mammoths.

Island foxes have lived on the Channel Islands for at least 6,000 years. Friends of the Island Foxes urges you to explore our website and learn more about the island fox. The island fox only lives in one place in the world, on the California Channel Islands and each island has a different subspecies. To continue to survive into the future, the island fox needs your help.

A $10 donation will vaccinate an island fox against the threat of introduced disease: distemper and rabies.

To Donate CLICK on the Pay Pal or Network for Good button in the upper right corner.

The Island Fox Goes to School

2009-05-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

March through May is a busy time for island foxes, biologists, and Friends of the Island Fox.

Spring brings fox pups that need to be fed by their parents and counted by biologists in the field. It also is the time for Earth Day events.

For the second year, Friends of the Island Fox participated in the Rio Vista Elementary School Environmental Awareness and Career Day. FIF educators introduced fourth grade students to the island fox, a local endangered species. Students participated in a hands-on activity replicating an island fox health check. They became field biologists weighing, evaluating and recording health data. (More on island fox health checks)

Education can be exciting and fun. Check out Rio Vista Elementary's exciting event on Santa Clarita Valley TV
http://www.scvtv.com/html/scvnews-current.html

The first step in saving an endangered species is educating the local community. Education can come in a variety of approaches, activities and interactions. Friends of the Island Fox is devoted to educating the public, young and old, in creative and relevant ways. The more you know about the island fox, the better neighbor you can be to this endangered species.

To contact Friends of the Island Fox about classroom or community programs:
(805) 386-0386

admin@islandfox.org or islandfoxnews@gmail.com

Two Special Dates for the Island Fox

2009-04-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

April offers two special days to see island foxes. Both the Los Angeles Zoo and the Santa Barbara Zoo are celebrating special events for Earth Day that shine a spotlight on California’s endangered island fox.

Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens
Saturday and Sunday, April 18 & 19

“Celebrate Earth Day at the Zoo”

The L. A. Zoo will be highlighting California species during their Earth Day celebration. Friends of the Island Fox will be on hand to offer special activities both days.

11:30 Radio Tracking Demonstration
12:00 Island Fox Exhibit Talk
1:00 Radio Tracking Demonstration
1:30 Fox Health Check (See what the biologists do in the field and give a helping hand)
2:00 Island Fox Exhibit Talk in Spanish

We will be located near the island fox exhibit in the zoo. Come by, say ‘Hello’ and meet an island fox.
More on L.A. Zoo hours and directions:
www.lazoo.org

Santa Barbara Zoo

Celebrate the opening of California Trails
Saturday, April 25, 2009

Come meet one of our favorite island foxes, Finnigan.

The Santa Barbara Zoo is opening their new California Trails exhibit complex. This $6 million construction project includes a renovation of the Channel Island fox exhibit and Condor Country - only the second zoo exhibit in America to display California condors.

Joining the island foxes and California condors are exhibits displaying desert tortoises, bald eagles and Rattlesnake Canyon. Rattlesnake canyon “showcases endangered reptiles and amphibians found in the Los Padres National Forest, including the red-legged frog. The [Santa Barbara] Zoo works in the field with the U. S. Forest Service to monitor this species, which has been decimated due to nonnative predators, such as bullfrogs, pollution, and habitat loss due to development. Western toads, now also facing habitat loss, are also displayed along with rattlesnakes, salamanders, newts, and other frogs.”

The renovated area also includes “the new Explore Store [which] demonstrates how buying "green" directly helps protect the habitats of these creatures, both around the world and in California.”

The new exhibits at the Santa Barbara Zoo offer an exciting opportunity to meet California’s native creatures. The special celebration on April 25th will also offer the chance to see Finnigan, the ambassador island fox. More about Finnigan.

For more information, hours and directions:
www.santabarbarazoo.org

Come out and support these two zoos that have played an important role in aiding the island fox.

Island Fox Questions

2009-04-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

Friends of the Island Fox is committed to connecting the community with the problems and issues concerned with protecting island foxes. When we receive questions, we want to bring you answers directly from the people in the field with these endangered animals. We received a great question from a student and were able to get a first-hand response.

hi this is a student from balboa middle school. i loved the presentation we got on Wednesday March 11, 2009. the video they showed us was very cute!!!! i have a few questions:

how often do the island foxes get hurt?
when you take them to the hospital does it hurt the foxes?
how long was it until you let the foxes free from cativity?

from a true inpired girl, Anastasia p.s. what are the people , who help the foxes????

Sara is an Island Fox Technician for Channel Island National Park on Santa Rosa Island, she answered:

Hi Anastasia,

Good questions.

Most of the injuries to island foxes have come from mate aggression during breeding (winter/spring) season. This was more common in our captive [breeding] population but has been documented in the wild population as well. These injuries include minor bites and tears around the ears, to more significant trauma involving rips, bites and abscesses (infected pockets under the skin) in various places. The foxes are actually fairly aggressive and scrappy toward one another during this time of the year.

Other common injuries include foxtails stuck in an eye or ear and torn toenails, these usually don't require any additional treatment beyond the time of observance. And, every now and then with the captives, we would find a case of ringworm, exciting.

Each island has a clinic called a "Foxpital" and is set up like a small veterinary clinic with all the necessary equipment to properly care for an ill or injured fox. When a fox requires care, they are brought into the foxpital and given an initial assessment by one of our staff fox biologists, from there a veterinarian is consulted to determine the best course of treatment. If necessary, we have veterinarians on call who can come out and perform emergency procedures on the island. Each animal's stay is dependent on the nature and extent of their injury. Most often, if an injury requires a stay in the foxpital, the animal is in for a week or so. In very rare cases we have cared for animals as long as three months.

Thanks for your interest in the island fox,

Sara

Island Fox Technician
Channel Islands National Park
Santa Rosa Island

Other stories on injured foxes:
Fox and the Fishing Lure
Burnie Boots

Your Donations to Friends of the Island Fox support conservation efforts across all of the Channel Islands to help island foxes.

The Island Fox and the Fishing Hook

2009-02-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

Because island foxes live on the Channel Islands and not on the mainland, some people wonder how their actions can do anything to help the island fox. But the island fox is our neighbor and our actions affect the fox directly and indirectly.

For example, someone fishing on or around Santa Catalina Island cut loose or lost a fishing line with a lure. The large lure found its way on shore. Perhaps it smelled of fish, because it attracted a curious and hungry island fox. While the angler had no intention of hurting an island fox, the abandoned lure did not discriminate. The hook lodged in the male fox’s upper and lower lip. He became unable to eat or drink, resulting in malnourishment and dehydration.

Fortunately, the injured fox was caught and taken into the Catalina Island Conservancy clinic on November 27, 2008. The lure was removed and the island fox’s face was stitched up. He was treated with antibiotics and nutritional supplements. By December 8th, he had recovered and was able to be released back into the wild on Santa Catalina Island. Other island foxes treated by the Catalina Island Conservancy.

Abandoned fishing hooks, line and nets can cause unintentional injury to sea life, birds and mammals like the island fox. You can make a big difference for a wide variety of animals by discarding used fishing line and hooks into the trash. If you find abandoned fishing equipment carefully gather it and dispose of it appropriately, but be careful of hooks! Abandoned fishing hooks are dangerous for everyone.

33rd Radio Collar Funded

2009-01-30T14:53:00.000-08:00

As the good news of higher island fox populations is coming in from across the California Channel Islands, the crisis of extinction seems to be past. The challenge of the future comes in monitoring recovering populations.

To that end, Friends of the Island Fox is proud to announce the funding of our 33rd radio tracking collar. This collar will go on a fox on Santa Catalina Island and be monitored by the biologists with the Catalina Island Conservancy.

Radio tracking collars have proved to be the best way to monitor large segments of the island fox population. Whether biologists are on the ground tracking the “beep” with a hand-held antenna, flying over in a small plane, or reading data from an automated system, the radio collar on the individual island fox provides valuable information.

Locating individuals: Each collared island fox has its own radio frequency. In the case of an emergency, like the Catalina Fire, surviving individual foxes can be located quickly by airplane fly over. The status of a large amount of the population can be determined in a short amount of time. If a collared fox is seen with an injury, biologists can locate the individual via its radio collar and specifically set trap cages to catch that one fox. This makes medical care more efficient.

Health care in the field: Biologists can track a recovering island fox, like the little female that was burned in the 2007 Catalina Fire. Burnie Boots. Being able to watch from a distance allows the patient to return to a wild lifestyle.

Behavior: Radio collars provide information on island fox movement across the islands. We are learning that male offspring travel further from their parents territory than females. The territory of individual foxes can be closer approximated, allowing foxes that are being released a better chance of being released into unclaimed territory. Release Video

Mortality signals: If an island fox is completely still for six hours, the radio collar will give off a special “mortality” beep. This allows biologists to locate an island fox that has died. Necropsy, or study of the dead body, can quickly determine cause of death. Island Fox CSI. If an island fox has been killed by a golden eagle, died of disease, or gotten trapped in a man-made facility, actions can be rapidly taken to safeguard the rest of the island fox population on that island.

Each collared island fox is an important link in a vital monitoring network.

Each radio collar costs $250.

Your donations have helped to fund 33 radio tracking collars. Thank you for helping to make a positive difference.

Good News for Island Foxes

2009-01-21T19:54:00.000-08:00

The numbers are gradually coming in from the biologists on the six Channel Islands that are home to the island fox. On the four islands where island foxes are endangered, San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Santa Catalina, the populations continue to increase.

Each autumn, island foxes are counted by trapping them in specially designed containment traps. This allows biologists to determine the number of island foxes on each island, check their health, give them vaccinations for distemper and rabies, and fit radio tracking collars.

For more on Health Checks on Catalina Foxes.

Last year the number of island foxes physically counted on Santa Catalina Island was 365. This year over 500 have been individually counted!

Endangered island fox populations are recovering successfully on all four islands, but we still have a long way to go to reach the population numbers before disease struck Santa Catalina Island and ecosystem imbalance resulted in golden eagles hunting island foxes on the northern islands. Why are island foxes endangered?

Island fox recovery has been possible because of broad reaching conservation efforts on their behalf.

You can help !

Donations To Friends of the Island Fox Help:

purchase radio collars to monitor wild island foxes. Learn More
supply vaccinations against disease transmitted from domestic dogs and species transported onto the islands. Learn More
fund necropsies to study the cause of death in island foxes. Learn More
support education programs to teach school children and community groups about this local endangered species and the Channel Island Ecosystem. Learn More

You can Donate by clicking on the PayPal or Network for Good buttons at the top right corner.

Stay Linked In. As soon as the final population numbers are available, we will post them here on the Friends of the Island Fox website.

For detailed information on each island fox population as well as research summaries, video and podcasts - Click on the Library button in the directory bar.

Island Fox on NBC Nightly News

2008-12-05T10:46:00.000-08:00

The success of the conservation efforts to save the Channel Island fox made the NBC Nightly News on Monday, December 1, 2008 !

How wonderful to see the faces of our friends at Channel Islands National Park talking about the island fox’s rapid progress toward recovery. National Park Service fox biologist, Tim Coonan is a familiar face on the Friends of the Island Fox website.

SEE Tim Coonan releasing island fox M-67 back into the wild.

LISTEN to an interview with Tim Coonan.

Friends of the Island Fox is proud to have worked with Tim and the dedicated people at Channel Islands National Park. Donations to Friends of the Island Fox have supported this successful conservation effort by funding radio tracking collars and den boxes at the captive breeding facility on Santa Rosa Island.

Yes, island fox populations are increasing, but when the NBC reporter said there are 650 island foxes, he was referring to across the three northern islands, San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz. Prior to the decline in the late 1990s, there were over 1,500 island foxes estimated on Santa Rosa Island alone.

The two populations on San Miguel and Santa Rosa, which crashed down to just 15 individuals on each island, are still highly vulnerable. The current estimates are just over 100 island foxes on each of these two islands.

The island fox on San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina Island is STILL an endangered species.

Monitoring these populations with radio tracking collars is vital to maintaining the continued success of their recovery. Each radio collar costs $250. Funding is still needed to put radio tracking collars on island foxes.

Canine diseases, distemper and rabies, continue to pose a serious threat to these small isolated populations. Annual health checks and vaccinations against these diseases still need to be funded.

You can help to insure that the island fox continues its historical recovery by donating to Friends of the Island Fox and supporting these continuing important conservation efforts.

WATCH the NBC Nightly News report on the island fox.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/28004734#28004734

ADDITIONAL NBC reports on the island fox:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#28000777

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#28003636

For More Information on the Channel Island fox. Current Island Fox Information.

About the Channel Islands:

San Miguel Island VIDEO
Santa Rosa Island
Santa Cruz Island
San Nicolas Island
Santa Catalina Island

All six islands with island foxes

Island Fox Origins and the Truth Behind Eagle Diets

2008-11-29T19:45:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for information on the origin of island foxes; how they evolved and their biology? Perhaps you’ve heard people question whether golden eagles were actually preying on island foxes. Answer your questions with information from the primary sources.

Friends of the Island Fox is honored to make information available from top researchers and biologists working with the island fox and the Channel Island ecosystem.

Paul W. Collins, Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History recently gave two presentations from his accumulated research at an Island Fox Workshop sponsored by the Santa Barbara Museum, Ty Warner Sea Center, Santa Barbara Zoo and Friends of the Island Fox. Both of these presentations are now available through links from the Friends of the Island Fox Educational Research Library.

Origin, Evolution and Biology of the Island Fox - looks at genetic, morphological, and archeological data regarding island fox origins and the basics of island fox biology, size, behavior, reproduction and diet

Diet of Bald and Golden Eagles on the Channel Islands - looks at the role eagles played in the decline of island foxes on the Northern Channel Islands and compares the diet of bald and golden eagles on the islands by examining prey remains in nests.

These two slideshow presentations can be found in the Educational Research Library

Under: “Island Fox Fact Sheets & Current Research”

Under: “Links to Research Sources”

Friends of the Island Fox is endeavoring to create the Internet’s most current library of information regarding island foxes. If you are a researcher or biologist and would like us to link to or host your published work relating to the island fox or the Channel Island ecosystem, please contact the Friends of the Island Fox Webmaster at islandfoxnews@gmail.com

Island Foxes Back in the Wild

2008-11-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

Friday November 7, the remaining able-bodied male island fox in captivity at the captive breeding facility on Santa Rosa Island was released into the wild. This happy day marks an important milestone in the recovery of this endangered species.

You can WATCH a moment of history as 6-year-old, M-67 steps out of his transport carrier and into the island scrub of Santa Rosa Island in Channel Islands National Park. LOOK for M-67's radio telemetry collar. The tracking collar was funded by donations to Friends of the Island Fox and will help keep track of this tiny fox as he makes his way in the wild.

Milestone for Endangered Channel Island Fox

2008-11-07T23:16:00.000-08:00

The door of the travel kennel opened and M- 67 leapt out. But rather than dash off across the lupine studded hillside, he hesitated and looked around. He seemed to know it was a moment to be savored.

When island fox populations on the northern islands plummeted to the edge of extinction in 1999, Channel Islands National Park and the Nature Conservancy established captive breeding facilities on San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands “as insurance against the loss of foxes from golden eagle predation.” But as the Channel Island National Park stated in their press release regarding the historic events of November 2008 - “With fox recovery on the rise, the one remaining captive breeding facility on Santa Rosa Island will close. Captive breeding is responsible for saving the island fox from the brink of extinction on Santa Cruz, San Miguel, and Santa Rosa Islands.”

In the past few weeks, 31 island foxes from the Santa Rosa Island breeding facility have been returned to the wild. Today–November 7, 2008–as Pat Meyer and Friends of the Island Fox, Inc. board members and members of the press looked on, National Park Service biologist Tim Coonan opened the door to freedom for M67. The little 6 year-old male fox was born in the captive breeding facility and over the years had been paired with several females. Now, he sat gazing at the wide open expanse around him.

Eight years ago when the Santa Rosa island fox population teetered on the edge of extinction with just 15 remaining individuals, Tim Coonan would have never believed this day could come so quickly. On this perfect autumn day, his words to M67 were prophetic, “Go on, you can do it.”

After a quick look over his shoulder, the little island fox bounded off through the low bushes. As he disappeared over a small hill, we heard the hardy beep, beep, beep of the signal from his radio tracking collar. This historic little fox has returned to the wild wearing a radio collar funded by donations to Friends of the Island Fox.

On this momentous day, Friends of the Island Fox proudly presented funds to Channel Islands National Park for two additional fox radio collars. To date, with your support, Friends of the Island Fox has helped put radio tracking collars on 22 island foxes on the northern islands and 10 island foxes on Santa Catalina Island. Radio tracking collars are vital to monitoring the continued success of one of America’s rarest mammals.

For more on the historic return of island foxes to the wild:

Coverage by Lance Orozco from KCLU NPR Radio News in Ventura. Link to KCLU Radio

Article by Chuck Graham in the Ventura County Reporter, 11/13/08

NBC Nightly News during the week of 11/10-14/08

We will be posting video and a podcast of M67’s release in the next week.

Island Fox Information

2008-10-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

Friends of the Island Fox announces the launch of our
Educational Resources Library

Our goal is to bring the expertise of researchers, land managers and biologists in the field, to the general public. We want you to have access to the most current information available about the island fox and the Channel Island ecosystem.

By clicking on the "Library" button in the navigation bar at the top of the page, you will go directly to our library of resources both written and visual.

Our new list of publications includes:

an Island Fox Fact Sheet (written by Catherine Schwemm PhD, co-author of an upcoming book on the island fox)
Island Fox Update 2008 (the most current information island-by-island)
Summaries of recent research findings on island fox behavior, relationships with eagles, island fox health, management, and the island fox and the Channel Island ecosystem

Dive into the new Library and discover the important news from the scientists:

The San Miguel Island fox is making the most successful recovery recorded in a canine species
Eagles leave evidence in their nests that proves what they are eating
The Santa Catalina Island fox is facing serious health threats

Click on "Library" in the navigation bar at the top of the site.

Friends of the Island Fox is devoted to providing educational resources about the island fox and the Channel Islands ecosystem to the public. Your donations help support this effort and island fox conservation.

To donate click on the Pay Pal button in the upper right panel.

Fox Festival at Santa Barbara Zoo

2008-09-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

The Santa Barbara Zoo Island Fox Festival

Sunday, October 5, 2008
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM

The Santa Barbara Zoo and Roots 'n Shoots are sponsoring the Island Fox Festival this weekend. It is a great opportunity to learn about the various conservation efforts of Roots 'n Shoots youth groups and to meet a Channel Island fox.

Even though the island fox enclosure is closed for remodeling, Finnigan, an island fox born at the Zoo last year, will be making appearances at presentations during the day. MORE on Finnigan.

Friends of the Island Fox will be participating in the festivities during the day. Come by and visit us.

This is a wonderful family event with music, crafts and activities.

For more about the Santa Barbara Zoo and Directions

More about Roots 'n Shoots.

Ask About the Island Fox

2008-09-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

Friends of the Island Fox offers FREE programs about the endangered island fox and the Channel Island ecosystem to school children from 3rd grade through college. Depending on participant age and group size, programs include interactive program, video of an island fox release, radio-collar tracking demonstration and hands-on materials.

Update on a Special Island Fox

2008-08-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

May 2007 a wild fire swept over a large area of Santa Catalina Island (Helping Island Foxes In Fire Area). After the fire, a female island fox was found with severe burns on her four paws. Her fur was singed and sooty. Diligent care provided by the Catalina Island Conservancy allowed the little fox to recover and she was released July 11, 2007 wearing a radio collar funded by donations to Friends of the Island Fox.

In November of 2007, “Burnie Boots,” as she has been nicknamed, was captured during island-wide fox health checks and she appeared to be doing well. Her feet had recovered fully. The only sign of her previous injury is that two of her toe pads are fused together. This fusing of the tissue happened during the healing process.

Boots’ radio collar transmits a specific radio frequency that allows biologists to hone in on her location and check on her movements, even if they can not physically see her. As long as the little fox continues to actively move around, her radio collar transmits a constant signal. If something should happen to Boots and she should stop being active, the radio collar would send out a distinctive distress signal.

As July 2008 approached, Boots’ battery-powered collar was in need of replacement. Using the radio collar signal, the Catalina biologists were able to set a trap specifically in the area where Boots was living. They captured her and, as the photo shows, her fur has completely recovered. The biologists replaced Boots' radio collar, checked her health and found a happy surprise. Not only had Boots recovered from last year’s burns, she showed signs of nursing pups. This spring the little fox saved from the fire became a mother. Her pups are helping to increase the Catalina Island fox population.

Burnie Boots’ success story is the result of many people working together to help the endangered island fox. The Catalina Island Conservancy manages the daily needs of this specific subspecies of island fox. Donations raised through Friends of the Island Fox by students in the Fox Ambassador Program and from concerned private individuals provided Boots with both of her radio collars.

Saving this endangered species requires community awareness and involvement. You can make a difference and help save the Channel island fox.

Donations to Friends of the Island Fox are used directly toward island fox conservation efforts and public education. You can donate directly to Friends of the Island Fox through our PayPal button at the top right corner or by check to:

Friends of the Island Fox
3760 Groves Place, Somis CA 93066

(805) 386-0386

Your school, class or youth group can become Island Fox Ambassadors

For questions about school presentations and the Fox Ambassador Program contact us at islandfoxnews@gmail.com

Listen to a fox health check in progress.

Experiencing San Nicolas Island

2008-07-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Island Journal - Summer 2008

Visiting California’s San Nicolas Island is a unique opportunity. This remote and wind-swept island is owned by the United States Navy. Friends of the Island Fox President, Pat Meyer, and I were fortunate to receive a special invitation for a short visit.

At first glance, the treeless slopes seem barren, but life here clings low to the ground to survive shifting wind. Delicate verbena flowers rise up from the sandy soil. Giant coreopsis, a species unique to the Channel Islands and the Southern California coast, stand like a forest of gray stick figures. This member of the daisy family grows several feet tall on a woody stem. In spring, the dried trunks come back to life and produce pompoms of lacy green topped with brilliant yellow flowers. (coreopsis photo)

Now, in July, the stems are dormant again, but the coreopsis forest is gradually spreading across 10% of the island. It is a clear sign that native plants are returning.

San Nicolas currently has the largest island fox population and the greatest number of foxes per square kilometer. We came hoping to see wild island foxes and the island didn’t disappoint us.

We were even lucky enough to see a litter of four pups born this spring. They were about 2 months old and bold little explorers. This is dad with one of the pups in the early morning fog.

Gazing across the dunes and scrub, it is hard to imagine there is enough cover to hide a fox, but the San Nicolas island foxes are tiny. The individuals we saw were slighter in weight and shorter, than the Catalina island foxes. It might seem impossible, but an island fox can emerge from the short grass along the roadside in a flash and be unseen until the instant it is in front of a car. Signs warning “Watch for Foxes” dot the few roads trying to alert unexpecting drivers. (road signs)

Most of the 12 island foxes we saw were wearing radio collars. Radio-collared foxes can be monitored by biologists and a new automated tracking system is being tested so that the movement of island foxes can be recorded in detail. The biologists are hoping this will provide greater understanding of island fox interactions and territories. Radio-collars also provide the first alert warning system for threats to island fox populations. (more on radio collars)

Dunes and grassland might seem inhospitable to a little fox, but it seems that sand fly larva may be providing an important food source for these foxes.

San Nicolas is a unique ecosystem and also home to endangered island night lizards and snowy plover. We saw one snowy plover and a number of other shore birds, including Western gull chicks. The beaches were busy with breeding California sea lions and resting immature elephant seals.

At night, sea lion barks hauntingly drifted up from the beaches. Fog streaked over the dry land. Here and there the wind would tear open a hole to expose the dark black sky with brilliant white stars.

San Nicolas Island is a wedge of sandstone cliffs carved by the waves of the Pacific Ocean. A unique landscape and home to the San Nicolas Island fox. - Keri Dearborn

Links to
Experiencing Santa Cruz Island
Experiencing Santa Rosa Island

CSI: Island Fox

2008-06-04T17:51:00.000-07:00

What happens when an island fox is found dead?

A Critter Scene Investigation

Just like your favorite crime drama on TV, it takes a team of scientists to understand what has happened when an endangered island fox is found dead.

Determining the cause of death for an animal that has died is a critical component of island fox recovery. Radio collars worn by all released and wild-born foxes provide a unique signal when an animal is motionless for 12 hours. (more about radio collars)

When this signal is detected, field personnel locate the collar and collect the carcass if in fact the animal is deceased. Island fox carcasses are sent to Dr. Linda Munson at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where she and her staff perform necropsies (autopsies) to determine precisely what killed each animal.

Information from necropsies helped determine the direct association between the island foxes decline and predation by golden eagles on the Northern Channel Islands and disease on Santa Catalina Island.

Helping the island fox comes in a variety of forms. Necropsies continue to provide critical information on disease, health, and continuing predation issues. Each island fox necropsy requires several hours of veterinarian time and follow-up laboratory analysis, and costs approximately $250. Because this program is not otherwise funded, there is a growing need for help in funding this vital part of island fox conservation.

You can help a real CSI, a Critter Scene Investigation. Your donations to Friends of the Island Fox can help to fund important scientific work and island fox necropsies.

To donate through Pay Pal, click on the Pay Pal button at the upper right corner of the page.

Video of Wild Island Fox

2008-04-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

What is small, but mighty? Only 3-6 lbs., but willing to stand its ground and protect its territory? An island fox.

Catalina Island Conservancy wildlife biologist Calvin Duncan approached a wild fox’s territory, he took this video of an island fox on Santa Catalina Island.

Protecting territory is important for a pair of island foxes. They need a hunting area that will provide enough food to support themselves and their pups. How does an island fox let you know you are in its territory? Watch and see.

Images like this of an island fox in the wild are very rare. Island foxes on Santa Catalina Island declined dramatically between 1998 and 2000 because of a disease, canine distemper, that was passed to them from a domestic dog. Today the estimated population has increased to approximately 572 individuals, slightly more than one third of their original number. Catalina island fox decline

The fact that island foxes are running wild again on Catalina, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and San Miguel Islands is due to the undaunted efforts of biologists, scientists, government agencies, private conservation organizations and concerned individuals like YOU.

When you support island fox conservation efforts YOU HELP to make sure that moments like this will continue into the future.

A special thanks to the Catalina Island Conservancy fox biologists Calvin Duncan and Julie King for sharing their experiences in the field with us. For more on their work with the Catalina island fox: Counting island foxes; Island Fox Health Check.

See video of an island fox release on San Miguel Island. Link

Island fox and fruit
What do island fox pups look like?
What do island foxes eat?
Why are they endangered?
More about island foxes