Radio Collars Going On Island Foxes!

photo courtesy of S. Baker, NPS

Meet M181! This young male island fox on Santa Rosa Island was fitted with a radio collar funded by YOU.

Channel Island National Park biologists have been fitting radio collars on individual foxes, conducting health checks, and counting island foxes throughout August.

These new and refurbished radio collars will provide information on island fox location and survival for the next 2–3 years.

Each radio collar has a signal at a specific individual frequency that is picked up by a radio receiver. The fox does not hear the collar's signal. 

Biologists can only hear the signal if they have a receiver tuned to the correct frequency and are within a specific proximity to the fox.

Radio collars are small and light weight so they do not bother the island fox. Each radio collar is fitted with a "two-finger fit" so that it is not too tight, yet not so loose that it might get caught on something.

Watch and Listen to the video below

WATCH as M181 is released back into the wild after his check-up and radio collar fitting.

LISTEN for the beeps from the receiver as the biologist checks the functioning of the radio collar.

 

Island Foxes on San Miguel Island will be getting their radio collars next.

Catalina Island foxes will be getting their radio collars and vaccinations soon. 

You can still help fund a refurbished radio collar $220 

for Catalina Island. 

Donate Today 

Island Foxes and Island Spotted Skunks Sharing Space On Santa Cruz Island

 (Thank you to our guest blogger Calypso N. Gagorik, MS in Biology, Northern Arizona University)

On the California Channel Islands, the island fox (Urocyon littoralis) has been hypothesized to compete with the smaller-bodied island spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis amphiala). Recent declines in spotted skunk captures have led to concerns on population viability and what role the foxes may have played in the decline.

(Calypso worked in the field on Santa Cruz Island with fellow researcher Victor Zhang.) 

From 2018–2019, we GPS and VHF collared foxes and spotted skunks living on Santa Cruz Island to assess space use and deployed remote cameras to examine interactions between the two species at spotted skunk den sites. We also explored monitoring tools for spotted skunk detection with emphasis on remote camera placement and use of scent stations.

We found fox and spotted skunk seasonal home ranges were much larger than previously reported on Santa Cruz Island and spotted skunks moved around the landscape differently compared to foxes.  

Spotted skunks showed restricted movement, using less than 50% of their home range over shorter time periods such as a week or month. Foxed moved widely through the landscape covering more than 50% of their home range over the course of a week. During this time, we collected the first photo evidence that foxes may be disturbing resting sites of spotted skunks during the day. We also found that remote cameras placed on drainage bottoms may be more effective in detecting skunks. We discourage the use of scents at camera stations as foxes appear to be monopolizing the stations by repeated marking.

Our knowledge and understanding of spotted skunk ecology are still limited due to the many challenges of studying a cryptic species. We encourage further studies be conducted on spotted skunks, particularly focusing on interactions of foxes and spotted skunks at den sites.

Calypso Gagorik, MS Biology

Read the full thesis: Spacial Use Patterns And Management Recommendations For Two Endemic California Channel Island Mesocarnivores, The Island Spotted Skunk (Spilogale gracilis amphiala) and the Island Spotted Skunk (Urocyon littoralis)

Friends of the Island Fox provided financial assistance to this research project. 

The deadline for the FIF 2021 Research Grant is August 31, 2021 

More Island Fox Research

Help A Fox Day - Protect Island Foxes

On this summer day you can help one rare fox survive.

What's in these vials? A vaccine that protects island foxes from canine distemper virus (CDV).

It takes $20 to vaccinate an island fox against CDV and rabies. Donors like you have helped Friends of the Island Fox purchase these vials of vaccine. We are committed to providing vaccinations for 300–350 island foxes on Catalina Island in 2021. 

But we still need to raise another $2,000!

Help FIF vaccinate island foxes!

CDV spreads rapidly through island fox populations and few survive. This virus caused the death of over 90% of the Catalina Island foxes in the late 1990s.

stowaway raccoon travels to Catalina Island

 

In 2021 - CDV is prevalent on the mainland in the Long Beach area, across from Catalina Island.  

CDV is carried by raccoons and other wildlife, as well as pet dogs. Make sure your dog is vaccinated against canine distemper virus and help island foxes stay safe too.

 

$20 protects an island fox for a year! 

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