Good News for Island Foxes From Tick-Testing Research

tick on island fox's lower eye lid

When can you put the words "tick" and "good news" in the same sentence? When test results come back negative!

In 2017, the occurrence of Lyme disease, and a related tick-borne disease, on a few Channel Islands raised concerns for island foxes and people. Working with the Catalina Island Conservancy and Channel Islands National Park, Friends of the Island Fox received a grant from the Fresno Chaffee Zoo Wildlife Conservation Fund to investigate parasites threatening island fox health.

tick sample ready to go to the lab

small tick on the back of island fox ear

Throughout the summer and fall of 2018, tick samples were collected from island foxes on Catalina Island by CIC biologists. These samples went to Northern Arizona University for analysis. 

A total of 159 ticks (mostly western black-legged ticks, Ixodes pacificus) were analyzed and NONE were found to be carrying Lyme disease (Borrelia spp. burgdorferi) or Anaplasmosis (Anaplasma phagocytophilum).

This is fantastic news for island foxes and for people visiting Catalina. The finding also provides a baseline for the future in case an occurrence of either disease occurs on Catalina Island.

Research and data-based conservation is keeping island foxes safe. Your donations help FIF advance scientific knowledge about island foxes and their ecosystem.

Friends of the Island Fox is accepting applications for our 

2020 Research Grant through August 31, 2020. 

For more information and an application form