Fox Foto Friday - Some GOOD NEWS!

Friends of the Island Fox is thrilled to announce: 

The Fresno Chaffee Zoo Conservation Fund 

has chosen FIF to receive a grant of $3,200 annually

for the next three years 

to help fund island fox conservation!

The Fresno Chaffee Zoo has been a long-time partner in island fox conservation. Since 2006, they have supported a variety of efforts to save island foxes–from radio collars to testing for disease. 2013-2018 5-year grant from FCZ.

This new grant will be emphasizing island fox health.

Friends of the Island Fox Celebrates with LUSH Cosmetics

Come Join Friends of the Island Fox as we celebrate the unveiling of the hand and body lotion with a Channel Island fox on the lid!

Saturday, June 25, 2016

2 - 6 PM at

LUSH Fresh Made Cosmetics

Westfield Topanga Mall

6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Canoga Park

LUSH cosmetic's Charity Pot lotion raises funds for grass-roots non-profits around the world. In 2016 our grant from LUSH Charity Pot has enabled FIF to:

• Vaccinate 550 island foxes this fall against Canine Distemper Virus
• Lead Volunteer teams to Santa Cruz Island to work on Native Plant Restoration
• Provide environmental education programs to 1,600 students across Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties (January-Sept 2016)

The Topanga store will have small and large Charity Pot lotions with the Channel Island fox on the lid!

Come help us thank LUSH for their support of a local endangered California species.

Join the celebration of island fox recovery and recommit your support to continue conservation efforts to keep Channel Island foxes safe and healthy into the future.

Fresno Chaffee Zoo Selects FIF for Five Year Grant

Fresno Chaffee Zoo representatives visiting Santa Cruz Island

The Animal Care Staff from the Fresno Chaffee Zoo has long supported island fox conservation. They first raised funds for radio-tracking collars in 2006.

The Fresno Chaffee Zoo awards conservation grants to a variety of worldwide conservation efforts each year. Over the past eight years, Friends of the Island Fox has received support from the Fresno Chaffee Zoo to fund:

• 20 radio collars 
• 200 vaccinations during our 2012 drive

This summer, we received notification that a five-year grant has been awarded to Friends of the Island Fox for island fox conservation. Of 66 applications only 8 were extend 5-year support. Among the grant recipients, FIF is the only organization working with a North American species in the United States!

We are thrilled by the support from our friends at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. While Fresno may be over the hills from the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands, FIF has participated in Fresno's Earth Day celebration and found their visitors very interested in the island fox and its survival.

The success of island fox conservation is based on local support and dedicated partnerships. The first year of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo grant supported important serology or blood testing looking for the presence of canine diseases among island foxes and the replacement of equipment important to annual counting and health checks.

Their second year of support will continue supporting fieldwork by replacing 43 of the field capture cages that safely enable island foxes to be captured for annual counting and health checks.

During the annual evaluation of the six populations, approximately 100 specially adapted capture cages are employed on each island. To ensure disease is not transferred between islands, each Channel Island has its own set of field equipment. With the financial support from our island fox friends at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Channel Island fox conservation enters its 17th year with much needed new equipment.