Channel Island Fox Talk Podcast

Happy July 4th!

Friends of the Island Fox is proud to announce our new

Channel Island Fox Talk - Podcast.

We hope to bring you interviews and updates with the people that are helping to save the endangered island fox.

Channel Island Fox Talk - Episode 1:

• Pat Meyer, President of FIF and the plans for Fox Talk
• Alan Varsik, Santa Barbara Zoo Director of Animal Programs and Conservation, with an island fox update

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN to
Channel Island Fox Talk

Helping Island Foxes Caught in the Catalina Fire

Friends of the Island Fox is happy to announce the gift of five radio collars for foxes in the fire zone on Santa Catalina Island.

A HUGE Thank You to everyone who stepped forward to help when the island fox was in need. Individuals can make a difference and working together we can save these endangered local creatures. Your concern about the island foxes on Santa Catalina Island in the wake of the fire and your generous donations have funded the purchase of five radio collars.

Which foxes will receive the radio collars?

One of the radio collars will go on the small female fox that was injured in the fire. Julie King, Senior Wildlife Biologist for the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy reports:

The injured fox is currently doing very well, and is expected to make a full recovery. Her weight has increased substantially and her paws are healing.

The little female fox has been moved to a pen at the captive breeding facility to continue her rehabilitation. When she is released, she will be fitted with one of the FIF radio collars so that her success in the wild can be monitored.

In order to ascertain if any other foxes in the fire area were injured the Conservancy set up monitoring traps.

15 individual foxes were captured (9 females, 6 males). No injuries were observed, and all captured foxes were at or above average weight.

Three of the caught females showed signs of actively lactating. These females are good evidence of pups that survived the fire. Four foxes trapped in the fire area were also fitted with radio collars donated by Friends of the Island Fox.

Watch four island foxes being released into the wild on San Miguel Island. Make sure you look for their radio collars.



Why are radio collars important?

Radio collars alert biologists not only to a fox’s location but whether or not it is alive. Flying over the burn area, biologists were able to pick up signals from the radio collared foxes and determine they all were alive. On Santa Cruz Island this spring, radio collars provided the first alert that a golden eagle was once again preying on island foxes.

Across the Channel Islands, foxes are raising this year’s pups. For their own protection, these precious new additions to the island fox populations will need radio collars. But each radio collar costs $250. With your donations we can see that more island foxes have radio collars.

Island Fox Born at Santa Barbara Zoo

(photo courtesy of Santa Barbara Zoo)

Spring is pupping season for the endangered Channel island foxes and each birth is a celebration. While we are waiting to hear how many pups were born out on the islands, the Santa Barbara Zoo happily announced the birth of a new island fox.

The male pup was born April 12, 2007, to a pair of older parents from San Clemente Island. The mother was unable to nurse the tiny pup and therefore it is being handreared by the Santa Barbara Zoo staff.

Fitting in the palm of your hand, the pup weighed only two ounces at birth–less than 2 AA batteries. Staff members attended to feedings six times a day, 24 hours a day, and the pup quickly doubled its weight.

As of Thursday June 7, the latest update is...

“It seemed like he was perhaps premature when he was born and a bit undersized. But within a month or so, he caught up to where he needed to be. He now weighs 1.4 pounds. He still gets two bottles of formula a day but has teeth and is eating solids. He receives our omnivore diet, like the other Island foxes we have, which is a canine mix, sort of like dog chow. We supplement that with small chunks of various vegetables and with baby food (chicken and rice, vegetables with turkey, turkey dinner). We are happy that he’s doing so well and heading towards normal development. We will soon start giving him some time and exposure with our male fox whose mate died recently. Hopefully, they can be companions.”

Currently this brings the total number of island foxes in Zoos to 12. Where can you visit a zoo with island foxes.

Alan Varsik, Director of Animal Programs and Conservation at the Santa Barbara Zoo and FIF board member, adds “The birth of this pup will further enhance our ability to continue to tell the conservation story of the island fox and the unique and special habitat that it lives in.”

Captive breeding has played an important role is reestablishing island fox populations. What is captive breeding? Animal management protocol developed at the Santa Barbara Zoo and other zoo facilities has helped provide valuable information on how to keep island foxes safe and healthy in captive environments.

Working together zoos and conservation land managers are saving this endangered species. Friends of the Island Fox supports their efforts and works with them to educate the public about the island fox and its unique habitat, the Channel Islands.

Fire Foxes - Catalina Island Fox Update

Early reports on island foxes surviving the Catalina Island fire are very hopeful.

Ann Muscat of the Catalina Island Conservancy

“Habitat damage is extensive and will require further analysis. There is no obvious loss of larger wildlife (eagle chicks in nest, deer, bison, foxes). Our staff was able to fly over the Island and monitor for 48 radio-collared foxes and all signals were picked up. This is very good news. Foxes are in the pupping season, however, and staff are now surveying the burn area for females in their dens to see if pups are surviving. A number of iron wood and oak groves were lost, but until we can overlay our vegetation maps onto the fire area, we will not know the full extent of the loss of rare and endangered plant species.”

Julie King, Senior Wildlife Biologist, Catalina Island Conservancy adds the following fox details about four foxes that were sighted in the burn area. Three were non-injured, but one female fox with “severe burns to all four paws, severe dehydration and malnutrition” was captured. The “fox is being treated in the Middle Ranch Veterinary Clinic under the direction of Institute for Wildlife Studies veterinarian Dr. Winston Vickers. An additional fox was captured in the process, a large healthy male, was given a workup, fitted with a radio collar and released at the location of capture.”

As of Saturday, May 26, 2007:

We'll be setting traps all weekend to get a better assessment of potential injuries in the burn area. I'll be sure to keep you updated if we get any additional injuries. On a happy note, the fox we are treating is responding very well to treatment. When caught, she was only 1.2kg and she's now up to 1.7kg. She's eating well and so far there is no sign of infection in her paws. It has only been 5 days, but her feet do appear to be slowly healing. She has a long road ahead of her, but she's doing much better than we had initially expected. Dr. Vickers will be out on June 4th to do an assessment. - Julie King

As the information from the Catalina fire area becomes available we will post it here. Friends of the Island Fox is rallying our resources to see what we can do to help the Catalina island foxes. These island fox survivors of the fire need our support more than ever.

Photos of the Catalina Island fire

Friends of the Island Fox Supports Integrated Fox Conference

Saving the endangered island fox requires the efforts of caring and knowledgeable individuals from around the country. The Integrated Fox Conference brings all of these people together once a year.

The third week in June, biologists and scientists will meet with conservation professionals and land managers for each of the Channel Islands to report on the current status of all six subspecies of island fox and to make conservation decisions for the upcoming year.

To support the efforts of the Integrated Fox Conference, this year Friends of the Island Fox is providing a grant to the U. S. National Park Service to help offset the transportation costs of the four veterinarians that provide care to the foxes on the islands and who do veterinary laboratory work during the year. These devoted people help maintain the health of island foxes and move quickly when disease threatens this endangered population.

• Karl Hill, DVM - Santa Barbara Zoo
• Karen Blumenshine, DVM - Wildlife Services Associates
  
• Winston Vickers, DVM - Institute for Wildlife Studies
• Linda Munson, DVM-PMI - University of California, Davis

The Integrated Fox Conference is sure to bring to light unexpected successes and new conservation challenges regarding the island fox. FIF will post a summary of the Conference, including an update on the status of island foxes on Catalina Island after the fire.

FIF thanks all of you who have donated toward island fox conservation during the first half of 2007. Your contributions have made this grant possible.

See last year’s

• “Highlights from the Integrated Fox Conference, June 20-22, 2006” Highlights 2006
• Mid year population UPDATE

Fire and Foxes on Catalina Island - Update

Just a quick Update on the island foxes on Santa Catalina Island.

Friends of the Island Fox has been in communication with the Catalina Island Conservancy (CIC). The few individual island foxes that are in captive care for health problems and Tachi, CIC's education fox, are all fine. (For more about Tachi)

As of Thursday May 17, the fire is completely out. Now biologists are beginning the task of trying to locate radio collared island foxes to determine if there were any fatalities due to the fire.

CIC will make their full report at the Fox Conference in mid June. A complete summary of all island fox conservation successes and issues will be posted here following the Conference. (most recent look at island foxes on Santa Catalina Island)

Thank you for your concern about the island foxes in the face of this recent fire threat.

Island Fox Festival at Los Angeles Zoo

Come out and support island fox conservation at:

The 4th Annual Island Fox Festival

Saturday May 19th at
the Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens

Friends of the Island Fox will be helping the L.A. Zoo celebrate the island fox at this day-long event.

Special Activities and Presentations will take place from 10 AM - 4 PM

There will be:

• A Keeper Talk at the Island Fox exhibit and an Enrichment Presentation
• Friends of the Island Fox “Fox Talks” throughout the day
• Fox Radio-Tracking demonstrations
• Fox Crafts & Conservation Activities
• Face Painting and more

All activities are included in general admission to the Zoo.







Come out, enjoy a day at the Zoo and meet an island fox. Stop by the FIF booth and say, “Hello.”

Educators and Group leaders: FIF representatives will have information on how you can have Friends of the Island Fox come and give a FREE presentation at your school or community group. We are also looking for enthusiastic schools and groups to participate in our Fox Ambassador Program.



Why is this toy island fox wearing an actual island fox radio collar?





Island foxes need radio collars before they are returned to the wild. Click here for more on Radio Collars and how you can help.

Current Update on the Griffith Park Fire: As of 4 PM 5/9/07 - All is well at the Zoo. All animals are safe and the greatest danger appears to be past. For the most up-to-date information go to www.lazoo.org

Fire and Foxes on Catalina Island

As of 6 PM Friday May 11 the wildfire on Catalina Island appears to be 35% contained. The current situation is an unfortunate example of the delicate nature of island habitats.

Officials from the Catalina Island Conservancy report:

Bald Eagles
The bald eagle chicks that recently hatched on the island are safe. The nests are on the eastern end of the island and not near the fire area. (more on the new bald eagle chicks)

Island Foxes
Currently the effect of the fire on wild island foxes is unknown. Radio collars on individual foxes will be vital in locating individual animals and determining if any have been overwhelmed by the wildfire.

This is another situation that highlights the importance of radio collars on the endangered island foxes on San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina Islands. Island foxes are currently having their pups on the islands. This new generation will soon need radio collars.

You can help make sure all endangered island foxes have radio collars.

More on the Catalina island foxes.

As details regarding the Santa Catalina island foxes and the Catalina Island Conservancy become available Friends of the Island Fox will provide updates through our Island Fox News e-mails. To be added to the e-mail list contact us at islandfoxnews@gmail.com

For photos and an article in the Los Angeles Times CLICK HERE

Bald Eagle Update: Spring 2007

The recovery of island fox populations on the northern islands is linked to the successful return of bald eagles to the Channel Islands. (Why bald eagles went extinct on the Channel Islands in the 20th century)

Bald eagles stake out territory for themselves and help to keep out golden eagles which prey on unsuspecting island foxes.

This spring has been filled with wonderful successes for nesting bald eagles on the Channel Islands.

• U.S. Fish & Wildlife reports “Two Bald Eagle Chicks Hatch Unaided on Catalina Island”
• Catalina Island Conservancy announces “Third Bald Eagle Chick Hatches Naturally on Catalina Island”
• Channel Islands National Park finds bald eagles nesting for the second year on Santa Cruz Island
• You can watch the bald eagle chicks grow up via NestCam as part of the Catalina Island Bald Eagle Restoration Project conducted by the Institute for Wildlife Studies.
• Hear the Latest Bald Eagle News from Dr. Peter Sharpe, Institute for Wildlife Studies when he talks on “Bald Eagle Restoration on the Channel Islands” at Channel Island National Park Wednesday May 9 at 7:00 PM.

Each Channel Island is a delicate ecosystem. Restoring habitat and supporting a healthy bald eagle population is vital to saving the endangered island fox.

Island foxes are presently having their pups out on the islands. Stay tuned for Updates from the Fox Conference in June and come support Friends of the Island Fox at the Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens’ Fox Festival Saturday May 19th.

Six Islands, Six Different Island Foxes

Island foxes are found on six of the eight Channel Islands off the coast of southern California. (Where does the island fox live? What is an island fox? Experiencing Santa Cruz Island )

A pair of San Clemente island foxes at the Santa Barbara Zoo. (Where can you see an island fox?)


Island foxes all have similar lifestyles and habits:

• About the island fox
• Males consistently weigh more than females
• What do island foxes eat? Their favorite food is the deer mouse. (Each island has its own subspecies of deer mouse.)
• Island foxes are good climbers, which allows them to reach bird nests and eggs
• Island fox pups are born in the spring. Island foxes usually have 2-3, but may have as many as 5 pups

But the foxes on each island are slightly different from each other. The differences are great enough that each island has its own subspecies of island fox.

National Park Service biologist Tim Coonan points out that the San Miguel island fox weighs significantly more than the island foxes on the neighboring island of Santa Rosa.

A San Miguel island fox being fitted for a radio collar.

A pair of Santa Rosa island foxes. (Experiencing Santa Rosa Island)













Tail length is a specific physical trait that varies between the different subspecies. Studies show island foxes from different islands have more or less tail vertebra.

In descending order:

1. San Nicolas Island 22 tail vertebra
   
2. Santa Catalina Island 21 tail vertebra
3. San Clemente Island 19 tail vertebra
4. Santa Rosa Island 19 tail vertebra
5. Santa Cruz Island 19 tail vertebra
6. San Miguel Island 15 tail vertebra

Between the shortest-tailed island foxes on San Miguel Island and the longest tailed on San Nicolas Island there is a difference of 7 vertebra. Interestingly, Schoenherr, Feldmeth and Emerson point out in Natural History of the Islands of California (Univ. of California Press 1999) that the island foxes on San Nicolas Island appear to have the least amount of genetic diversity. This suggests the San Nicolas population may be descended from as few as a single pair of foxes.


All of the island fox populations are vulnerable because they live in such limited habitats. Small population numbers mean that a single introduction of a disease, like the canine distemper outbreak on Santa Catalina Island, can threaten an entire island fox population. (Santa Catalina island fox Update) Catastrophic events, like the arrival of an unexpected predator–the golden eagle–can cause near extinction.

The island foxes on San Miguel Island were reduced to only 15 individuals because of predation by golden eagles. This genetic bottleneck means future San Miguel Island foxes will be more genetically alike than they were in the past.

Conservation and research efforts are necessary across the islands to preserve and protect the six subspecies of island foxes.

Donations to Friends of the Island Fox supports conservation and education efforts to Help Save all six subspecies of island fox. See how your donations can make a difference.