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Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Island Fox Questions

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.

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Friday, December 05, 2008

Island Fox on NBC Nightly News

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

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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Island Foxes Back in the Wild

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.


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Friday, November 07, 2008

Milestone for Endangered Channel Island Fox


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.

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Monday, April 14, 2008

Earth Day and the Island Fox

This Saturday and Sunday,
Friends of the Island Fox
will be at the

Los Angeles Zoo Earth Day Expo 2008


April 19 and 20, 2008
10:00AM - 4PM


The event will highlight California Wildlife and part of that focus will be the endangered island fox.

The Los Angeles Zoo is home to a male San Clemente Island fox. FIF and representatives from the Channel Islands National Park will be up near the island fox enclosure providing activities throughout the day.

  • 11:30 AM & 2:30 PM Fox Health Check: Participate in all the steps that biologists do in the field to check the health of wild island foxes.

  • Noon & 3 PM Radio Tracking Demonstration: How do biologists find small island foxes on large islands? Come and help us a track a radio collared animal in the zoo.

  • 1 PM Exhibit Talk at the Island Fox Enclosure

Come out to the L.A. Zoo, help celebrate Earth Day and find out how you can help preserve California’s unique wildlife diversity like the endangered island fox.

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Thursday, December 06, 2007

Island Fox Update - Channel Islands National Park

Island Fox Update
with Tim Coonan

Wednesday, December 12th at 7.00 P.M.


As part of the Shore to Sea Lecture Series, Tim Coonan, biologist for Channel Islands National Park, will speak on the most current information regarding the island foxes on San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands.

This is a great opportunity to hear the most up-to-date information on the island foxes on the northern islands.

The free lecture will be presented at:

Channel Islands National Park headquarters
1901 Spinnaker Drive in Ventura


Hear an interview with Tim Coonan.

Good News 2007 island foxes on Santa Cruz Island

Good News 2007 island foxes on San Miguel Island

Counting foxes on Santa Catalina Island

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Thursday, February 15, 2007

Island Foxes on 'Animal Planet'

Friday, Feb. 16 at 9 PM

Animal Planet’s
new series 'Ms. Adventure'


will feature a segment on the island foxes of
San Miguel Island.


You’ll have a chance to see the island foxes and some of the devoted people from the Channel Islands National Park working to save this endangered species.

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Sunday, January 28, 2007

Friends of the Island Fox, Inc. Goes Live!

Hear FIF on the radio or streaming live on the web.

January 31 from 1:00 - 2:00 PM
on Talk Radio 960 AM
in Antelope Valley

or www.talk960.com


FIF President Pat Meyer and National Park Service Lead Biologist Tim Coonan will be interviewed by Barb Stanton of Talk Radio 960 AM.

You’ll get the most up-to-date information on fox status and news on how you can help the island fox.


LISTEN live on the internet.

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