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Island Foxes Beginning to Feel Right at Home
Surviving at the top of the food chain is just as tough as struggling at the bottom; there’s always something that wants to knock you down. That was the case for the pint-size island fox on the majestic Channel Islands.
About the size of a small house cat, the rust and cinnamon-colored canine was nearly picked clean by golden eagles on San Miguel, Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands by 1999. It’s been listed on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Endangered Species List since 2004.
Originally lured to the volcanic chain by an extensive feral pig population on Santa Cruz, golden eagles soon realized that island foxes were an easier catch, not only on the largest of the Channel Islands, but also on neighboring San Miguel and Santa Rosa.
Fast forward to November 2009, and the fragile island ecosystem is reaching some ecological stability. The 5,000 feral pigs were officially eradicated in the spring of 2008 and 43 golden eagles were trapped, attached with GPS units and relocated back to northeastern California. None of those raptors have returned. Bald eagles were returned to the islands between 2002 and 2006 to re-establish historic nesting habitat, while keeping potential golden eagles at bay. The results have been astounding for island fox populations across the unique Channel Islands National Park archipelago.
“We’ve removed the predation pressure on the foxes,” said Tim Coonan, terrestrial biologist for Channel Islands National Park. “Now the foxes know what to do.”
What they’ve done is proliferate since the last captive island fox was released on Santa Rosa in November 2008. Historically, Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa had 1,000 foxes on each island. On San Miguel, there were 400 foxes. By 1999, island fox numbers on San Miguel and Santa Rosa dropped to 15 foxes on each island, and fewer than 50 on Santa Cruz. Because island foxes on each of those islands are physically and genetically different, it was possible a subspecies could be lost forever.
After a decade of captive breeding and no aerial predators around, island fox numbers have skyrocketed in the wild to 1,000 on Santa Cruz, 400 on Santa Rosa and 320 on San Miguel, according to biologists. It’s believed to be one of the swiftest recoveries in the history of the Endangered Species Act.
To keep tabs on their continued recovery, 50 island foxes have been radio collared on each island.
“That gives us a good look at how they survive,” Coonan said. “It’s a safeguard against potential dangers.”
— Local freelance writer Chuck Graham is editor of Deep magazine and has closely followed the island foxes’ recovery for Noozhawk.
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» on 12.27.09 @ 12:44 AM
This is so awesome! This shows what can be accomplished with hard work and positive thinking.
» on 12.27.09 @ 12:23 PM
Very cool. I would have liked to hear about whether there were any issues with regard to repopulating from a small number of foxes (small gene pool).
Also, the article implies that Golden eagles will prey on the foxes but not Bald eagles. It would have been nice to know why that is.
» on 12.27.09 @ 02:22 PM
Wonderful story Chuck and photos too… Bravo !!
» on 12.27.09 @ 03:24 PM
Fantastic
bet you this story doesn’t make the New -Press
» on 12.27.09 @ 08:19 PM
Did you take pictures of any surviving boars. We miss the wild island.
» on 12.28.09 @ 12:03 AM
great article and wonderful photos! fascinating, thanks
» on 12.28.09 @ 08:19 AM
talk about hype! at least tell the truth Chuck: the foxes were never endangered, are being forced to wear radio collars(harassment)and some golden eagles have returned..even Parks Supe Russ Galipeau couldn’t deny that when I asked him!
Brian Ehler
» on 12.28.09 @ 09:36 AM
Brian,
Do you work for wendy Mc Caw?
So you think the endangerment of the foxes was just a scam? The earth is probably flat, we never landed on the moon and 9/11 was staged.
» on 12.28.09 @ 09:44 AM
To answer a question: The bald eagles prey on marine species—like fish and seabirds. They don’t typically go for terrestrial animals like the foxes, pigs or skunks.
Thanks for continuing coverage of this story. I studied the efforts to save the island fox in 2001-2002, and it looked dismal then. It seemed an overly ambitious dream—get rid of ALL the pigs and ALL the golden eagles on a 90+ square mile island? Yeah, right! But they did, and it’s working. I’m impressed with the conservationists’ foresight and perseverence.
» on 12.28.09 @ 10:24 AM
there’s a sucker born every minute and that’s what the Nature Con and Parks Service depend on ...imagine creating a no fly zone for golden eagles (it did not work!), poisoning, harassing and killing other species in favor of “native” species..whoops, they killed some native mice, too!
this native-only cult is wasting billions trying to cleanse demonized species from the California landscape..pigs, fennel, olive trees, deer, purple thistle, eucs, ice plant..the list goes on and on…it is pure folly as dispersal is a fact of life..and no, I don’t work for Wendy McCaw who supports the killing of non-natives: she gives money to the Center for Biodiversity. The biggest threat to the fox is the pseudo-biologists and their followers..but make no mistake: the weeds will win; nature bats last.
Brian Ehler
» on 12.28.09 @ 11:22 AM
This is very cool. Good job to the ecologists and biologists who have successfully reestablished the fox. As a citizen it makes me happy and willing to support additional programs such as this in the future. Well done!
» on 12.28.09 @ 12:24 PM
Jeez- wrong side of the bed? Even if people don’t win the war against “invasive” species, the battles are part of the undertow that we create together. I think the article made a lot of people happy, as did the effort. I’m excited to show foxes to my kids. And as far as wasting money, tax hemp - they’re making a killing off of it and its ridiculous that we sit by and pretend its not happening. -just my 2 cents
» on 12.28.09 @ 05:14 PM
A few people were really excited to see a bald eagle soaring near Pelican Bay last week as the Condor Express cruised down Santa Cruz Island. And it is really nice to go on the island and see the foxes and not have a lot of turned up soil. A couple years ago you hardly ever saw a fox but you saw all sorts of rooted up dirt from the pigs. Getting rid of the pigs and helping the foxes come back is well worth the money, and the Park Service will make it up in increased tourism dollars now that the island is improved.
» on 12.28.09 @ 08:05 PM
gee, now all the tourists won’t get their tootsies dirty from soil on the islands!? Yes, I guess the restoration is a resounding success…
Brian Ehler
» on 12.30.09 @ 09:40 AM
What a beautiful photograph!! Very handsome creatures.
» on 01.01.10 @ 06:58 PM
According to the story, only 50 of the 1720 foxes are wearing radio collars. It would be interesting to hear if the prop. of the CarpCoyoteReview, Mr. Ehler, is right and the Goldens have returned—- and what effect they are presently having on the foxes. Perhaps Chuck Graham would do a postscript on this?
Thanks for the excellent story; it’s encouraging that there can be wildlife restoration.
» on 01.04.10 @ 04:58 PM
Brian Ehler has obviously not spent much time on the Channel Islands.
» on 01.05.10 @ 09:18 AM
Well SB Native, since you didn’t make your point, I’ll help you with a little multiple choice:
Brian Ehler hasn’t spent much time on the Islands because:
A) the Channel Island pigs are still there and were never massacred by the Parks Service, along with other non-target species
B) Monsanto chemicals weren’t used to kill non native species
C) he would see the wonderful results of the restoration!
D) those aren’t radio collars on the foxes, they’re necklaces designed by native people!
E) that’s not a golden eagle, that’s a helicopter!
F) yippee! there’s biodiversity!
Brian Ehler
» on 01.11.10 @ 05:25 PM
Might happen that nature bats last and that means less and less biodiversity and the rats and weeds will overcome, however, nature batting last, might just result in a new explosion of biodiversity…right after the last people exit. In the meantime, I’ll vote for conservation, a conservative idea.
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