Zoos Helping Island Foxes

Sometimes you have to look behind the scenes to see the important role that zoos play in wildlife conservation. The island fox has several important zoo friends.

Fresno's Chaffee Zoo

Fresno's Chaffee Zoo has been a vital partner in island fox recovery and health for 16 years. It started with a few zoo keepers committed to helping island foxes and a donation for a radio-tracking collar. 

When the zoo established their Wildlife Conservation Fund, Friends of the Island Fox was a 2014 grant recipient. Over the years, the FCZ Wildlife Conservation Fund has funded not only radio collars, but vaccinations, equipment for safe capture of island foxes, important evaluation of island fox blood samples for evidence of disease and other critical health measures.

In January of 2022, the FCZ Wildlife Conservation Fund provided a special one-time grant that funded the refurbishment of 15 radio collars for Santa Cruz Island foxes. These collars were all placed on island foxes over the last month. The grant also helped fund vital testing for disease among island foxes.

Friends of the Island Fox just received our FCZWCF grant of $3,200 for 2022. This funding will go toward health monitoring and/or vaccinations for island foxes.

 

Santa Barbara Zoo

The Santa Barbara Zoo was the first to come to the aid of endangered island foxes and they participate in the Island Fox Conservation Working Group. Keepers and veterinary staff helped develop the care and feeding protocols for island foxes in captive breeding facilities from 2001–2006. The zoo has provided a home for a few island foxes and was the first to successfully breed island foxes in captivity. Today, all of the island foxes living in mainland zoos are rescued wild individuals that do not have the skills to survive in the wild. 

Lewis and Clark (above) are brothers who were abandoned by their parents in the midst of drought on San Clemente Island. Today these two island foxes play an important role for their wild relatives. Because they live in a controlled environment with ready access to veterinary care, they are health advocates for other island foxes. They provided samples to the island fox microbiome research study. 

Early in the pandemic it was discovered that Covid-19 could be passed to canines. As the pandemic grew there was concern for island foxes in the wild. Could biologists handle island foxes for health checks as they had in the past? Might island visitors pass Covid-19 to island foxes?

Island foxes are very susceptible to introduced diseases. Many vaccinations for dogs are not safe for island foxes. In the controlled environment of the Santa Barbara Zoo, Lewis and Clark were vaccinated against Covid-19. They had no ill side-effects. Zoo veterinarians monitor whether the vaccine continues to protect the two foxes. If necessary we know island foxes can be safely vaccinated for Covid-19.

Beau at the Living Desert

Island Foxes at other Zoos

Living Desert in Palm Springs - Home to Beau (above) a male abandoned as a pup during drought on San Clemente Island

Female gray fox and island fox sisters at CALM

 

California Living Museum in Bakersfield - Home to two sisters (above) abandoned as pups during drought on San Clemente Island

San Diego Safari Park - Home to Sage a female with a chronic health condition from Catalina Island

FIF is thankful for the continued support of island fox conservation from our Zoo Friends.

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.

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.

Studying Island Fox Blood

What is the biologist doing to that island fox?

Blood samples play an important role in not only monitoring island fox health, but also in alerting biologists to potential diseases island foxes may have been exposed to. When an animal comes in contact with a disease, their immune system creates antibodies to fight against the disease threat. 

By testing island fox blood samples for titers, levels of antibodies, biologist can determine if island foxes have encountered new disease threats. They also can tell if individuals are carrying antibodies from vaccinations at high enough levels to protect them against know diseases like rabies and distemper.  

Serology, studying blood samples, may not sound very exciting, but it is very important to the recovery of the endangered island fox. Thanks to a $2,000 grant from our friends at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, island fox blood samples taken during annual fall health checks last fall will be examined for antibodies to various canine diseases (distemper, parvo, etc.).

400 Endangered Island Foxes Protected

photo courtesy of Melissa Baffa

These two island fox pups born on the Channel Islands this year have a glowing future because their human neighbors care about protecting them.

Friends of the Island Fox is thrilled to announce that the Fresno Chaffee Zoo has awarded us a Conservation Grant of $2,000 to vaccinate 200 endangered Channel Island foxes against canine distemper.

This is a doubly rewarding acknowledgement because:

1. These matching funds combine with private donations raised this summer to meet our goal of $4,000 to vaccinate 100 endangered island foxes against canine distemper on FOUR islands.
2. This is also the sixth year that the Fresno Chaffee Zoo has supported conservation efforts on behalf of the endangered Channel Island fox. In previous years they have funded radio tracking collars on individual island foxes.

It is heartening when a local California zoo sees the importance of supporting conservation of a local endangered species. The Fresno Chaffee Zoo has been a strong partner in helping to save the endangered island fox and we thank them for recognizing the continued success of island fox recovery depends on proactive vaccination against disease.

Thank you to everyone who supported our canine distemper vaccination drive this summer.

You helped protect 400 Channel Island foxes from canine distemper in 2012 !

Zoos Helping Island Foxes

wild island fox wearing radio collar funded by Fresno Chaffee Zoo

Zoos of the 21st century are active partners in conservation. Friends of the Island Fox salutes our Zoo friends.

The Fresno Chaffee Zoo has awarded a conservation grant to Friends of the Island Fox for 5 years in a row. They have sponsored 20 radio collars to monitor island foxes in the wild! These radio collars are vital to maintaining a healthy wild population and demonstrate the role modern zoos play in supporting conservation efforts to preserve and restore healthy wild ecosystems. Thank you to the keepers and staff of Fresno Chaffee Zoo for being true island fox friends. Visit the Fresno Chaffee Zoo.

The Santa Barbara Zoo is home to four island foxes, three San Clemente island foxes born in captivity and a Santa Rosa island fox with a chronic health condition. The keepers and staff of the Santa Barbara Zoo wrote the book on keeping captive island foxes healthy and on successfully breeding them. When island foxes became endangered in the wild (the crisis years - northern islands, Catalina Island), the knowledge gathered at the Santa Barbara Zoo helped to establish successful captive breeding programs on four islands. Zoo veterinarians have also provided vital healthcare to wild island foxes. The Santa Barbara Zoo is home to Finnigan, the education island fox, helping to bring the story of this endangered species to thousands of local people every year. Thank you to the keepers and staff of the Santa Barbara Zoo for being true island fox friends. Visit the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Size of golden eagle presented at AZAD Conference

The docents of the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens have made educating the local community about the endangered island fox a priority mission. This September they carried their education outreach back to Memphis, Tennessee to the national conference of the Association of Zoo and Aquarium Docents. The success of island fox recovery depends on active partnership between scientists, conservation organizations, government agencies and an educated local community. The Friends of the Island Fox grew out of the docent program at the Los Angeles Zoo and these dedicated volunteers continue to be some of our greatest supporters. (Annual Earth Day event) Thank you to the docents of the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens for being true island fox friends. Visit the Los Angeles Zoo.    Become a docent.

Friends of the Island Fox Funds Radio Collar #56

August 2010 brings exciting news and support for the island fox.
 

Island Fox Friends from Fresno Chaffee Zoo visit Santa Cruz Island

For the third year in a row the Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s Conservation Committee has awarded a conservation grant to Friends of the Island Fox.

The $1,000.00 grant will fund four radio collars to be worn by endangered island foxes on the northern islands. 

Radio collars provide biologists with information on where island foxes are living  and whether or not they are alive. (See Catalina Island Fire) If an island fox stops moving for 6 hours, the radio collar changes its regular transmission pattern to a “mortality beep.” This allows biologists to recover the body quickly and determine the cause of death (Necropsy).

Island foxes with radio collars provide the first alert that a golden eagle has returned to the Channel Islands, that disease has been introduced, or that some other unnatural situation could be impacting island foxes. See Fire Fox and The Island Fox and the Fishing Hook. This past spring, several island foxes were killed when a golden eagle returned to the island. (Santa Rosa)

With the grant funds provided by the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Friends of the Island Fox has now funded 56 island fox radio collars: 42 for the northern islands in Channel Islands National Park and 14 for the southern island of Santa Catalina.

While island foxes on Santa Rosa Island faced additional challenges this year, populations are successfully recovering on San Miguel, Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina Islands.  A major part of that recovery is community involvement. Each island fox wearing a radio collar has a story and many of those stories begin with proactive people.

56 Radio Collars - Each one represents a personal donation, a community group like the Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates, or the energy and conviction of a Fox Ambassador School.

You too can help save the endangered island fox by supporting conservation efforts and Friends of the Island Fox.