Note that if you purchase something via one of our links, including Amazon, we may earn a small commission.
Found only on the Channel Islands, the island fox was almost extinct 20 years ago.
The recovery of the island fox is a complicated success story. Found only on the Channel Islands, this petite fox (about the size of a housecat, but slighter) was almost extinct 20 years ago. But after an amazingly brief and successful restoration effort, the foxes roam the campground near Scorpion Cove on Santa Cruz, all but oblivious to humans nearby.
Island foxes emerged about 10,000 years ago, and for millenia were the top predator on the islands. That changed in the 1990s, when the golden eagle took up residence. The golden eagle filled the void left by the disappearance in the 1950s of the bald eagle, a victim of DDT. The golden eagle would not have been interested in Santa Cruz were it not for plentiful feral piglets, but it was also not averse to munching on island foxes, which had never needed to develop a fear of avian predators, as the native bald eagles eat mostly fish.
Due to golden eagle predation, from 1994 to 2000, island fox populations fell over 90%, from about 1,500 foxes to less than 100. The Park Service and the Nature Conservancy (which owns a large chunk of Santa Cruz and manages it with the NPS) hatched a plan. First, they trapped 10 pairs of island foxes, and bred them in captivity, careful to maintain as much genetic diversity as possible.
Then, they trapped 44 golden eagles and relocated them to Northern California. They reintroduced over 60 young bald eagles, territorial raptors sure to give any passing golden eagles a hostile reception.
Lastly, and with great difficulty, they eradicated the 5,000 or so feral pigs. The island’s sheep were easy to round up and ship off, but the pigs were far more tenacious. They were also destructive; their rooting behaviors provided invasive plants an opportunity to establish, and the rooting also disturbed Chumash archeological sites. Specialized hunters were brought in, and in a year and a half, the pigs were no more. No returning golden eagle would find much to eat. Santa Barbara writer T.C. Boyle presents a fictionalized, but largely accurate, account of the eradication efforts in his novel When the Killing’s Done (on Amazon).
With the threats gone, the captive foxes, now numbering almost 100, were reintroduced. And they’ve boomed, with a population now estimated at 2,900. NPS wildlife biologist Tim Coonan calls the saving of the island fox, “One of the most successful, and quickest, recovery programs in the history of endangered species.”
Since they have no fear of predators, island foxes are easily seen roaming the campground near Scorpion Cove, showing little fear of or interest in people. They are also adorable, mostly gray with reddish underbellies, and a white muzzle that gives them a smirking appearance. They scamper about, noses to the ground, scanning for the fruits, bugs, and assorted critters that make up their omnivorous diet. It’s kind of amazing to observe such a rare animal in its natural habitat, especially one that was so close to extinction just 20 years ago.
Read more about taking a trip to Channel Islands National Park.
