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Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Give the Gift of Saving a Species

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.


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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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Monday, February 09, 2009

The Island Fox and the Fishing Hook

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.

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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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Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Island Fox Information

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

O
ur 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.

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Wednesday, June 04, 2008

CSI: Island Fox

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.

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Monday, April 21, 2008

Video of Wild Island Fox

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

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Thursday, February 07, 2008

Island Romance - Island Fox Mating Season


Island Romance - Island Fox Mating Season

Are you contemplating romance and Valentine’s Day? So are the island foxes. The cold blustery days from December to February are the perfect season for California’s Channel Island foxes to pair up and settle down in a cozy den.

During autumn, island fox families tend to split up. The youngsters, now over six months old, head off on their own and the parents take a vacation from family life and each other. With the arrival of winter, the monogamous mates come back together. (About the island fox)

Island foxes make their dens in a sheltered location, sometimes underground, in a tree stump or in amongst dense undergrowth. The male and female establish a territory around their den site and settle down to finding food for a family.

A few island foxes born last spring, will also be out looking for a mate. Even though they are less than a year old, some will become parents this spring. Because population numbers are still far below normal on San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina Islands, island foxes are breeding younger and having more offspring than they usually would. The abundance of island deer mice and other food items makes it possible for a pair of island foxes to raise five pups instead of the typical two or three.

Valentine’s Day 2008 will be very special on San Miguel and Santa Cruz Islands. For the first time since emergency captive breeding began in 2000, ALL of the island foxes on these two islands are once again free-roaming and choosing their own mates.
(2007 fox release on San Miguel Island) (2007 fox release on Santa Cruz Island).

Captive breeding programs saved the island foxes from extinction on both of these islands, but human matchmakers are never as good as the foxes themselves. We can all hope that this year there will be an increased number of island fox pups born on San Miguel and Santa Cruz Islands.

Eleven of the island foxes released in Channel Islands National Park are wearing radio-tracking collars funded through donations to Friends of the Island Fox. (radio collars)

Pups born in the spring and foxes slated for release from the captive breeding facility on Santa Rosa Island will soon be needing there own radio tracking collars. Your donation to Friends of the Island Fox helps to provide radio tracking collars vital to monitoring the recovery of endangered island foxes. You can donate through the PayPal and Cause for Good buttons in the upper right .

This Valentine’s Day give a truly romantic gift.
Help support a solution.

Working together we can SAVE the island fox.

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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Friends of the Island Fox and Jane Goodall


Friends of the Island Fox is proud to join our friend Dr. Jane Goodall at the

5th Annual Day of Peace
sponsored by Roots and Shoots and the Jane Goodall Institute

Come Join in the Fun at this FREE event:

Sunday, September 23
at GRIFFITH PARK (by the merry-go-round)
11 AM - 4 PM

There will be:

Hear Jane Goodall speak and help celebrate the community and conservation work accomplished by local Roots and Shoots youth groups.

Visit Friends of the Island Fox at our booth. We will selling “Friends of the Island Fox” T-shirts and offering stuffed toy foxes for a $10 donation.

We’ll be raising funds for fox radio collars and looking for schools willing to meet the conservation challenge of becoming Fox Ambassadors.

Come by and say “Hi.”

For more information: rootsandshootsla@aol.com
or www.janegoodall.org/peace-day

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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Helping Island Foxes Caught in the Catalina Fire

Friends of the Island Fox is happy to announce the gift of five radio collars for foxes in the fire zone on Santa Catalina Island.

A HUGE Thank You to everyone who stepped forward to help when the island fox was in need. Individuals can make a difference and working together we can save these endangered local creatures. Your concern about the island foxes on Santa Catalina Island in the wake of the fire and your generous donations have funded the purchase of five radio collars.

Which foxes will receive the radio collars?

One of the radio collars will go on the small female fox that was injured in the fire. Julie King, Senior Wildlife Biologist for the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy reports:

The injured fox is currently doing very well, and is expected to make a full recovery. Her weight has increased substantially and her paws are healing.

The little female fox has been moved to a pen at the captive breeding facility to continue her rehabilitation. When she is released, she will be fitted with one of the FIF radio collars so that her success in the wild can be monitored.

In order to ascertain if any other foxes in the fire area were injured the Conservancy set up monitoring traps.

15 individual foxes were captured (9 females, 6 males). No injuries were observed, and all captured foxes were at or above average weight.

Three of the caught females showed signs of actively lactating. These females are good evidence of pups that survived the fire. Four foxes trapped in the fire area were also fitted with radio collars donated by Friends of the Island Fox.

Watch four island foxes being released into the wild on San Miguel Island. Make sure you look for their radio collars.



Why are radio collars important?


Radio collars alert biologists not only to a fox’s location but whether or not it is alive. Flying over the burn area, biologists were able to pick up signals from the radio collared foxes and determine they all were alive. On Santa Cruz Island this spring, radio collars provided the first alert that a golden eagle was once again preying on island foxes.


Across the Channel Islands, foxes are raising this year’s pups. For their own protection, these precious new additions to the island fox populations will need radio collars. But each radio collar costs $250. With your donations we can see that more island foxes have radio collars.


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Tuesday, March 13, 2007

FIF at Moorpark Spring Spectacular 2007


March 17 & 18
March 25
March 31 & April 1


Spring is in the air. Island foxes are getting ready to have their litters of pups across the Channel Islands. Come help us celebrate.

Over the next three weekends Friends of the Island Fox will be out at America's Teaching Zoo participating in their Annual Spring Spectacular at Moorpark College. (10 AM to 5 PM daily)

We’ll be raising awareness about the island fox and its Channel Island home and making connections with the community and educators.

The Spring Spectacular is a great family outing with animal shows, a Kid’s Fun Zone and more. Visit their Website

Representatives from Friends of the Island Fox are happy to participate in Earth Day Fairs and school conservation events. You can help spread the word about the endangered island fox–its conservation challenges and successes–by inviting FIF to your community or school event.

For more information or to schedule a visit from Friends of the Island Fox contact us at

(805) 386-0386

admin@islandfox.org

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Sunday, March 04, 2007

Island Fox Goes to the Fair

28th Annual Los Angeles Environmental Education Fair
Saturday, March 20 from 9 AM to 4 PM

“A greener tomorrow, today!”

Friends of the Island Fox (FIF) will be at the L.A. Environmental Education Fair (LAEEF) this coming Saturday at the L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia.

“The LAEEF focuses on young people. ... [especially] hands-on activities that engage students in a natural science experience...”


Come out and join FIF for a fun and informative day. FIF representatives will be talking to students and teachers about the island fox and our free outreach programs.

Fox in the Classroom - FIF representatives visit schools with an interactive presentation about the island fox and its Channel Island habitat. (grades 2 - college; Santa Barbara, Ventura & Los Angeles counties)

Fox Ambassador Program - Classes and schools can participate in the Fox Ambassador Program. You’ll play an active role in helping the endangered island fox.

Friends of the Island Fox will also come out to your community group and give a Fox Talk. This interactive presentation will give your group the most up-to-date information about the island fox, its history, research and current status on the Channel Islands.

For more information or to schedule a visit from Friends of the Island Fox contact us at:

(805) 386-0386 or admin@islandfox.org

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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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Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Island Fox Research Notes – Hilary Swarts

Hilary in the field on Santa Cruz Island with one of the oldest collared females, A3Y. (Photo by Jessica Sanchez)

“You can kind of see her collar ID colors: Pink, White, Pink, Pink. That's how we identify the foxes photographed by remote cameras. Annoyingly, it doesn't work all the time. This female just got her newly painted collar in mid October.” - Hilary

Research:
Circadian temporal activity of the Santa Cruz Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis): A possible newfound anti-predator defense for a naïve, endangered species

Hilary Swarts, a PhD candidate at the University of California at Davis, is studying the behavioral response of the island fox to golden eagles, a predator to which foxes are not adapted. Her theory is that foxes, which are naturally active during the day (diurnal), have possibly changed their behavior in response to predation pressures from golden eagles. Eagles also hunt during the day, so foxes may be responding by being more active at night (nocturnal). Specifically, the research is investigating whether behavior patterns of foxes on Santa Cruz Island have changed in the period since the 1990’s when golden eagles colonized that island. If foxes have changed their behavior, this shift may be a selection- or learning-based response to predation by golden eagles, or it may be a response to reduced fox density.

Hilary’s research will examine several aspects of island fox ecology including reproductive success, changes in population abundance in response to different levels of predation, daytime activity levels in the absence of predation, and will compare measures of daytime activity to the risk of predation. The results from her research will contribute scientifically to the understanding of the effects of invasions on behavioral ecology, while also providing crucial information to resource managers on the risks of golden eagle predation to the Santa Cruz Island fox population.

Hilary Swarts , Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology
University of California at Davis


FIF plans to fund future island fox research. You can help with your donation to Friends of the Island Fox, Inc. To donate use the PayPal or Network for Good buttons in the upper right corner.

For more on Santa Cruz Island and the island fox:

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