Fox Foto Friday - Sylvie Update

"Sylvie" at the Living Desert 3/8/26

This photo of "Sylvie" the San Nicolas Island fox was taken this month at the Living Desert Zoo. When we remember back to her foot injury as a young fox in 2023, it's amazing to see her run, jump, and climb!

 

This x-ray shows the compound fracture that could have cost her life. 

But school children, seniors, and people like you all rallied together to fund orthopedic surgery so she could live a protected, but long life. Find out more about Sylvie's Journey, her surgery, recovery and see video of her and the team of people that rescued her.

You can see Sylvie, too, at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. 

Without a community of friends, this little island fox would not have survived. 

Together we can solve problems and save species. 

"Date with a Fox" - Sylvie's Story

Do you remember this island fox?

In the Fall of 2023 this young female island fox was found injured on San Nicolas Island. Her story demonstrates the power of people working together toward a positive goal. Federal and state governmental agencies, biologists, zoos, private individuals, and Friends of the Island Fox donors, all came together to give this island fox a second chance.

See the virtual program  

Date with a Fox - Sylvie's Story

Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025

Link to a Japanese translation of this video program - courtesy of Takao Ono

We heard from the team that found Sylvie and made all of the necessary connections to facilitate her transfer to the mainland.

Francesca Ferrara, Natural Resource Specialist, Naval Base Ventura County

Robyn Powers, consulting biologist, SWCA Environmental Consulting 

V.P. of Animal Care and Health at the Santa Barbara Zoo, veterinarian Julie Barnes detailed the medical efforts that were needed to treat Sylvie's injured foot. You'll see the results from the orthopedic surgery that donors like you helped to pay for.

How is Sylvie today? 

 

Living Desert Animal Care Curator, Heather Down, updates us on Sylvie's recovery. 

FIF is Thankful for donors like you that helped to make this successful story possible.  

Date with a Fox - "Lewis" of the Santa Barbara Zoo

 

Meet Lewis at the Santa Barbara Zoo! 

In September, FIF and Santa Barbara Zoo Animal Care Staff did a live talk via ZooLife with a video camera watching Lewis in his habitat.

If you missed this daytime event, you an still see Lewis in action.

How do zoos care for these tiny predators? How do they encourage natural behaviors?

Watch FIF & 

Animal Care Staff from the Santa Barbara Zoo for

"Date with a Fox"

"Date with a Fox" is FIF's quarterly FREE virtual program (Past "Date with a Fox" programs).

You'll hear directly from the folks that care for Lewis and you'll be able to see him active in his habitat.

 

 Remember this Island Fox Face?

"Sylvie," the San Nicolas Island fox was injured and required special orthopedic surgery nearly a year ago. In June, she found a permanent home at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Springs. Watch the video of her introduction to Beau, a senior citizen island fox from San Clemente Island. Sylvie is spayed and they are a companion pair.

Your donations made her recovery possible.

Fox Foto Friday - Injured Island Fox Back on Her Feet

This young female island fox was discovered during capturing of island foxes for counting and health checks with a broken rear leg. Her story is one of multiple agencies, institutions, and a community of people working together to help her survive.

Friends of the Island Fox and donors like you helped raise the $1,900 to pay for her specialized orthopedic surgery. Following her orthopedic evaluation on March 15, Julie Barnes, V.P. of Animal Care and Health at the Santa Barbara Zoo, reported that "the fracture is healing really well and no longer needs bandaging." 

March 28th and she is standing solidly on all four legs!

All island foxes are under the jurisdiction of the California Dept. of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW). Removing an individual from its island habitat is a major decision because once an island fox comes off of its island of origin, it can not be returned. Because island foxes evolved in isolation on the Channel Islands, they are very susceptible to diseases from the mainland. Canine distemper virus is lethal to them and nearly caused extinction on Catalina Island in 1998. Today, a minimum of 100 island foxes are vaccinated against distemper on each island annually. (Help FIF vaccinate foxes)

To protect the wild population, the injured female island fox can not return to San Nicholas Island. The CDFW has approved The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Springs as her new home. The Living Desert is an American Zoo Association accredited zoo and has cared for other island foxes in the past. She will be moving to her new home March 30th.

Currently, there are six (Update 5/23/24 - five) island foxes living in zoos on the mainland. The CDFW requires that each facility only have males or females, since no island foxes can be bred on the mainland for release on the islands.

If you can't travel to the Channel Islands, you can see island foxes at:

The Santa Barbara Zoo

Brothers, Lewis and Clark, were left abandoned pups after their mother was hit by a car on San Clemente Island. The Santa Barbara Zoo leads the zoo community's efforts toward island foxes and hosts the annual Island Fox Conservation Working Group Meeting. (Update: Clark passed away at 8 years old on May 17, 2024, Lewis remains healthy and on exhibit.)

California Living Museum, Bakersfield

Two sisters, from San Clemente Island, were abandoned by their parents as pups during a drought year. They were in an enclosure with a female gray fox. The only place where you can see these two species side-by-side. (Update: one sister passed away in 2023.)

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Is home to Sage, a female island fox from Catalina Island, who was separated from her parents by people as a pup, resulting in chronic health issues. She was unable to be released back into the wild and requires regular veterinary care. 

The little San Nicolas Island fox joins her five cousins as ambassadors for their wild relatives. They tell a story of how human actions can be detrimental or positive for island foxes.

The San Nicolas Island fox has a second chance because people like you came to her aid.

You Did It! You Gave An Island Fox a Second Chance!

Thank you to our donors - near and far!

Over the past three days, you've responded with overwhelming support and raised the funds to pay for special orthopedic surgery needed for this young injured island fox. Her story

 

 

Thank you to:

• FIF's long-time donors
• Our Instagram followers
• Our "X" followers especially our "Hijinkai" who love island foxes from afar in Japan

You all have helped to give this island fox a second chance on life.

Injured Island Fox Pup Gets Second Chance

 You can help this young island fox

Friends of the Island Fox is raising funds to pay for her orthopedic surgery

During the annual fall 2023 counting and island fox health checks on San Nicolas Island, biologists discovered this female pup with a recently injured right hind leg. The bones just above her foot, the metatarsal bones, had been fractured and the wound was open.

The injury was too severe for treatment on the remote Navy island. According to our friends with the U.S. Navy and the Santa Barbara Zoo: "The cause of the injury could not be determined but her chance for survival without intervention was minimal due [to] the risk of infection and septicemia posed by the open fracture. Releasing her without treatment with such an injury was determined to be both inhumane and life threatening."

island fox in the wild on Santa Cruz Island

Removing an island fox from the island where it lives is a big decision. Having evolved in isolation on their specific islands, once an island fox leaves an island it can not return. The biosecurity risk of introducing disease from the mainland to the wild population is too great.

The young fox was just old enough to be dispersing from her parents. With treatment and several months of observed convalescence, she had a good chance for full recovery. The cost of treatment, however, was being removed from the wild for the rest of her life.

 

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) gave special authorization to transport the state-protected species off of the island and off of the Navy's federal lands into state jurisdiction. She was flown off of San Nicolas Island and transferred to the Santa Barbara Zoo, which has "extensive experience in caring for orphaned and injured island foxes." A pair of brother San Clemente Island foxes who were abandoned by their parents during a drought year, currently live at the Santa Barbara Zoo. (Lewis and Clark)

In consultation with Dr. Steve Klause, a veterinary orthopedic surgeon, the Santa Barbara Zoo veterinary team initiated a conservative treatment plan. While the little fox responded well, the fracture did not initially heal as hoped. 

The Zoo team reached out to Friends of the Island Fox. The little female island fox needed special orthopedic surgical repair for internal fixation of the fracture. Could we help with some of the unexpected costs? 

FIF determined to raise the $1,900 needed.

On December 16, 2023, the little fox had her surgery and Dr. Julie Barnes Vice-President of Animal Care and Health tells us, she is doing well. The island fox still has several months of recuperation before she is fully healed. The Santa Barbara Zoo says "Once fully recovered, the fox will be transferred to a permanent home ... at an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited facility where she will serve as an ambassador for the species - the first known San Nicolas Island fox to do so!"

Protecting island foxes is a community effort and saving this individual island fox is no different. People from the U.S. Navy, Santa Barbara Zoo, specialist veterinarians, and FIF are all investing in the future of this island fox.

You can HELP Too! 

Join our list of donors supporting this island fox

• Recycling for Island Foxes and the Planet: $200
• school children in Thousand Oaks, CA: $300+
• FIF Instagram followers: $125
• FIF "X" followers, including in Japan: $360
• FIF returning donors: $1,190