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Thursday, August 31, 2023

Island Foxes Are Getting New Radio Collars

 


Six new radio collars funded by Friends of the Island Fox will arrive on Catalina Island next week!

Across the Channel Islands, island foxes are receiving annual health checks and new radio-tracking collars.

 

Watch the video below of M173. He is a four-year-old male on Santa Rosa Island and his radio collar was replaced last week during his health check.

He is not tranquilized. The green hood covers his eyes and keeps his mouth closed. This keeps him calm and enables biologists to quickly complete a health check, vaccinate the fox against canine distemper and rabies, and for some island foxes, deploy a new or refurbished radio collar.


This radio collar will send signals to biologists for the next 2–3 years. The signal will help locate M173 and the type of signal informs the biologist if he is moving around normally or if something might have happened to him. In the case of a mortality signal, biologists can follow the signal to find the island fox's body and determine what happened. If there is a threat to other island foxes, action can be taken quickly.

For the 2023 health check season Friends of the Island Fox has supplied:


Radio collars offer the best way to monitor island fox survival 

in the wild. 

Your donations make it all possible.

Friday, August 04, 2023

FIF Research Grant Application Deadline Approaching

 

Are island spotted skunks genetically different enough from mainland spotted skunks to warrant species status? FIF 2022 Research Grant recipient Julia Owen is probing the island spotted skunk genome.

 

Are island foxes crossing into the territory of other island foxes to access beach foods on Santa Rosa Island? FIF 2021 Research Grant recipient Katie Elder and recipient Juliann Schamel continue to investigate island fox territory size and diet. 

Are you investigating island foxes, prey species, Channel Island ecosystem dynamics, public education and attitudes toward island fox conservation, or any topic relating to island fox survival and a healthy island ecosystem?

Apply for FIF's 2023 Island Fox Research Grant

Download Application

Grants will be considered for up to $7,000


Application Deadline August 28