Can I Feed An Island Fox?

Please don't feed island foxes.

If there is one thing to remember when you visit the Channel Islands, this may be the most important. Wild animals who receive food from people frequently pay the consequences.

Emily Hamblin, Senior Wildlife Biologist on Catalina Island conveyed the news about a female fox. "We were very saddened this month to receive a call about a roadkill fox [hit by a car] on Stage Road. As soon as we heard the location, we knew which fox we were going to see."

The female Catalina Island fox was first caught as a pup in 2012. Most years she was captured and given a health check. There were physical signs that she had mothered pups. This year she received her health check and, despite being an older fox at nine years old, she was in good health.

"She was always gentle, didn't bite," Hamblin wrote, "and was easier to work with than the average fox. After we released her, she stayed nearby in the road instead of running off. From these actions, it was clear she was being fed by humans."

It was just two days after her health check that Hamblin was retrieving the female fox's body from the road. Part of the biologist's job is to investigate fox deaths. 

"It is hard for me not to feel a bit of hopelessness as I respond to these calls over and over again...When people feed foxes on the road, they are essentially conditioned to think that dinner is in the middle of the highway. Far too often, this behavior results in foxes being unintentionally lured to their death."

This island fox's death was preventable. 

We can warn drivers about foxes near roads. We can provide Fox-Safe bins to keep island foxes out of trash and lockers for campers, but only people can make the choice to protect island foxes. 

When you feed an island fox, you threaten its life. Island foxes that seek food from people end up entrapped, entangled, and in danger.

Save an Island Fox - Don't Feed It.

Read Emily Hamblin's full story in the Catalina Islander

Friends of the Island Fox Helps Save Island Foxes on Catalina Island

What is the biggest threat to island foxes on several islands? 

Being hit by a car! 
(See Island Fox Update 2018)

Island foxes are small, camouflaged for their environment, and vulnerable to speeding cars.

Thanks to Friends of the Island Fox a speed-detecting traffic sign on Catalina Island is back in operation slowing down drivers. 

I'm happy to report that with funding from FIF we have repaired our radar speed detector and deployed it on the landscape! says Lara Brenner, Wildlife Biologist for the Catalina Island Conservancy. In the next few days I will take some time to hide in nearby brush and monitor the speed machine's efficacy at convincing people to slow down. Thank you so much for your continued support of our fox program. We hope to continue working with you to decrease the impact of vehicles on the Catalina island fox population.

The traffic sign is again alerting drivers to SLOW DOWN and watch for island foxes.

Some road areas are more deadly to island foxes than others. Reducing island fox access to human food and trash, deters these tiny animals from crossing busy roads. Friends of the Island Fox is also committed to replacing old and dangerous trash cans on Catalina with "Fox-Saver" bins and putting fox-proof food lockers in campgrounds. When island foxes are denied access to human food and trash they are healthier and safer.

Thank you to ALL of our DONORS who helped fund this important fox-safety effort on Catalina. Working with the Catalina Island Conservancy, we can make sure Catalina Island foxes continue to have a solid recovery and healthy future.