Radio collars are being fitted on island foxes across the islands during annual health checks.
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| Island fox gets a radio collar funded by FIF donors July 2026 |
Friends of the Island Fox's goal for 2026 was:
- 15 refurbished VHF collars for San Miguel Island
- 12 refurbished GPS collars for Santa Rosa Island
- 15 new Digipeater collars and 3 antennae stations for Santa Cruz Island
You helped meet that goal and MORE !
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| VHF collar to be refurbished (left) and smaller digipeater collar (right) |
17 refurbished VHF collars for San Miguel & Santa Rosa Islands have arrived and will be fitted on island foxes in August/September. These are old collars refitted with new parts and batteries.
12 refurbished GPS collars have already be deployed on Santa Rosa Island.
20 Digipeater radio collars (the smaller one on the right, above) and 3 antennae stations went to Santa Cruz Island. In the photo you can see that digipeater collars are typically more square and slightly smaller than VHF collars. More foxes collared equals more survival information.
FIF board member and wildlife veterinarian Jessica Sanchez and assistant FIF Secretary Kris Chatari fitted new digipeater collars on 3 island foxes in early July. They'll be telling their health check story in the next few weeks. Did island foxes appear healthy? How many pups did they see? Did they see any island spotted skunks? What did this fox have to say about his new collar? Stay tuned.
Radio-tracking collars are the best way to monitor island fox survival across the Channel Islands. Your donations play an important role in continuing this vital conservation effort.
The death of a digipeater-collared island fox on Santa Cruz was realized and the body found within 14 hours of its demise. This quick response allowed its body to be collected in time for a necropsy to determine cause of death. See the story of this individual fox
Radio collars provide proof of life. On Santa Rosa Island radio collars signaled that most collared island foxes survived the May wildfire.
Your support makes monitoring of island foxes possible.
What is the difference between VHF, GPS, and Digipeater radio collars?
