Date With A Fox - Tim Coonan, Biologist

 Join Friends of the Island Fox for a Virtual Event !

"Date with a Fox" 

with guest Tim Coonan

Tuesday, December 5 

6:30 - 7:30 pm Pacific Time on Zoom

Tim Coonan is the retired Senior Biologist for Channel Islands National Park. He documented the mysterious decline of island foxes across the northern Channel Islands and uncovered that golden eagles had colonized the islands and were unexpectedly preying on island foxes. 

How were the decisions made to bring island foxes into captive breeding? What steps had to be taken to restore the ecosystem so that island foxes could return into the wild and recover their populations? Tim Coonan was there when only 15 individual island foxes remained on San Miguel Island and four populations were listed as Endangered Species. 

He released the last captive island foxes back into the wild and is the co-author of "Decline and Recovery of the Island Fox." 

Join FIF for an intimate conversation with Tim Coonan and a chance to ask your questions about island foxes.

 

Fox Foto Friday - Happy Foxgiving

Across the Channel Islands, island foxes thank you.

These rare creatures live only on six islands and no where else in the world. (About Island Foxes) Your concern and donations have helped bring them back from the edge of extinction and are vital to protecting their future.

Friends of the Island Fox at Sierra Club Event

What is the current status of the endangered Channel Island fox? 

Come join us and find out.

Friends of the Island Fox will be joining the Ventura Sierra Club for an evening program hosted by Jim Hines. 

We'll be presenting a FREE family friendly program:

Island Foxes: In Their Island World

February 5th 2015

7-8:30 PM (Doors open at 6:15 PM)

at the Community Meeting Room

Ventura City Hall

501 Poli Street, Ventura, CA 93001

NOTE: Plenty of free parking behind city hall

We'll be talking about the vital role island foxes play in their island habitat, new information on island fox diet, the amazing recovery of all four endangered subspecies, and the future: concerns about impacts from changing climate, human trash, and biosecurity. 

As well as the presentation, there will be information on conservation efforts and educational displays. Compare your hand to a fox footprint. Compare an island fox to a gray fox or a red fox. How small is an island fox? How big is a golden eagle?

Bring your questions and then help us spread the word about protecting our rare Channel Island foxes. 

Which Island Foxes Wear Radio Collars?

island fox with radio tracking collar; courtesy CIC

Island fox populations are returning to normal levels across the six California Channel Islands where this rare species lives. With hundreds of island foxes on each island, the number of radio-collared animals is limited to a representative group. Typically 40-60 individual animals wear radio-tracking collars on each island.

 Which island foxes receive radio tracking collars?

Island foxes that wear radio-tracking collars are typically younger–ages 1-4 years old. Island foxes can live 8-10 years in the wild, with rare individuals living to age 12 years. Younger animals are more likely to move across the islands as they try to find a mate and establish their territory. (Female that traveled across Catalina's isthmus) 

While some radio-collared island foxes are individuals with specific survival challenges (Burnie Boots and three-legged island fox), most collared island foxes act as disease and predator sentinels. If something happens to these foxes their demise is quickly brought to the biologists' attention because of the radio collar. When an island fox stops moving, even breathing, for over six-eight hours the collar signals a specific mortality signal. Using the signal, biologists can locate the island fox's body, discover the cause of death and take action. (Listen to radio signals on our Audio/Video page)

“Being able to identify the threats greatly improves our ability to understand and protect this unique species,” says Julie King, director of conservation and wildlife management for the Catalina Island Conservancy. Once the carcass is collected it is sent to the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory to ascertain the exact cause of death.

Both male and female island foxes can be sentinels. These individuals are not vaccinated against the two most threatening diseases to island foxes–rabies and canine distemper. (FIF vaccination funding) 

courtesy of Jason Bean

Reading information from the radio-collars varies across the islands. On flat-terrain islands radio receiver towers pick up the signals of island foxes in their area and relay the information to a computer terminal. Mountainous terrain is more challenging; on some islands radio-collar signals are picked up from the air by small aircraft, weekly or biweekly. On other islands, biologists with hand-held antennae and a receiver locate island foxes from vehicles or on foot.

In 2014 FIF has the goal to fund our 100th radio collar. With your help we will reach that goal. 

Education and the Channel Island Fox

photo courtesy of Inge Rose

You can’t care about an animal and its ecosystem if you don’t know about it.

This year Friends of the Island Fox programs reached:

• Over 1,200 students in classrooms across Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles Counties.
• Our volunteers provided “Fox Talk” presentations to over 1,500 children and adults in community groups, nature centers, state parks and at Channel Islands National Park.

More about FIF programs

Understanding the importance of this small little fox as a keystone predator on the islands has inspired students and people across the country to help fund island fox conservation.

• Fox Ambassador Schools
• El Segundo Ladies Golf Club
• Fort Collins, CO Foxes Baseball Club

Education is one of our primary goals and your donations to Friends of the Island Fox make it possible for us to provide education programs.

Each classroom offers the opportunity to teach our next generation about the native plants and animals that are their neighbors. Local wildlife depends on human neighbors that respect and value the environment. 

FIF also grew its participation in continuing adult education through our relationship with Road Scholar. Our programs on the Channel Island fox have become an important part of Road Scholar’s adventures to Coastal California and Channel Islands National Park. http://www.roadscholar.org
 

photo courtesy of Paul Bronstein

This holiday you can give the gift of education by supporting Friends of the Island Fox in someone’s honor.