FIF Spring Trip to Santa Cruz Island

Scorpion Anchorage, Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park

Spring offers beautiful days on the Channel Islands. Ocean views are made even more thrilling when you realize someone four-footed is enjoying them too.

Santa Cruz Island fox

Under the table, a curious Channel Island fox is investigating the human visitors.

The ongoing successful recovery of the endangered island fox means there are many opportunities to see this charismatic creature in its native habitat ! 

Join Friends of the Island Fox for a day of discovery and adventure as we travel to:

Scorpion Anchorage, Santa Cruz Island

Channel Islands National Park

May 3, 2014

This half-day trip offers options on arrival time:

• 9:30 AM: For those who would like an early start, meet us at the Channel Islands National Park Headquarters, at 1901 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura (right at the end of Spinnaker Drive, beyond Island Packers).  We will tour the Center, receive a Tidepool Talk, and have the chance to view the Park film “Treasure in the Sea.”  
• or 11:15 AM: Check in with Friends of the Island Fox at the Island Packers’ Ventura Harbor dock, at 1691 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura, for a noon departure to Santa Cruz Island, Scorpion Anchorage.
   
• 5:00 PM: Island Packers’ boat departs Santa Cruz Island, arriving in Ventura Harbor around 6:00 PM

Tickets are $65.00 per person. 
(A percentage of the fee will go to support island fox recovery efforts.)
 

Reservations are limited and will be provided on a first come basis. To book reservations, please download the Reservation Form.

Send the completed form with your check, made payable to the "Friends of the Island Fox" to the address on the form.  Reservations will be taken in the order received, and no reservations can be accepted without payment.

At the time of booking you will receive further details of the trip, including: maps of where to meet, what to pack, suggested clothing and other items of interest. Remember the photo at the top. Island foxes are smart and curious, food items must be secured at all times.

If you have questions, contact FIF at islandfoxnews@gmail.com
or (805) 228-4123

What to remember when visiting the island fox. 

Previous trips to Santa Cruz Island:

June 2013 Trip and Items on the Beach 
May 2012 Trip 

 

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. 

Come to the Fox Festival

Where can you see island foxes and learn more about them without taking a trip to the Channel Islands?

At the...

Santa Barbara Zoo

Fox Festival

Sunday, Feb. 16th 2014

11 AM - 3 PM

Friends of the Island Fox invites you to join us in celebrating FOXES !

There will be activities, crafts, Keeper Talks, and an opportunity to see Channel Island foxes and compare them with the Zoo's new African fennec foxes. 

What do these two species of tiny foxes have in common? Which has the bigger ears? Which eats insects?

The Santa Barbara Zoo is also home to several bald eagles. 

Come out and join the Fox Fun. Friends of the Island Fox will have a booth with current island fox information and fox related activities.

Bald Eagle Recovery on California Channel Islands

courtesy of Peter Sharp

The return of bald eagles to the California Channel Islands has been a slow but steady effort that has aided the Channel Island fox recovery on the northern islands. A robust bald eagle population keeps away golden eagles, island fox predators.  

Island fox recovery has been incredibly rapid. More typical of efforts to save endangered species, bald eagle conservation has spread across decades: 

• 1967 bald eagle listed as endangered species
• 1970s bald eagles become extinct on the Channel Islands
• 1980 - 1986: 33 young bald eagles are reintroduced to Catalina Islands 
• 1987: eggs laid by bald eagles on Catalina Island fail to survive because of continuing high levels of DDT in marine ecosystem
• 1989: bald eagle eggs taken from Catalina Island nests and incubated. Later hatchlings or foster chicks are returned to nests. 
• 2000 - 2002: juvenile bald eagles reintroduced to the northern Channel Islands 
• 2006 first chick hatched without human assistance on the Channel Islands in 50 years; female A-49
• 2007 bald eagle eggs hatch on Catalina Island without human assistance
• June 2007 bald eagle taken off of the Endangered Species List
• 2012 Female A-49 nests for the first time on Santa Cruz Island, but first chick does not survive
• 2013 MILESTONE EVENT - Female A-49 and mate become the parents of female chick A-89 the first second-generation bald eagle chick successfully fledged on the Channel Islands since the beginning of the recovery effort

According to the biologists managing the bald eagle recovery program, fifteen pairs of bald eagles attempted to nest on the Channel Islands last year. See a photo of A-89 and the full accounting of bald eagle nesting on the Channel Islands in 2013 at the Institute for Wildlife Studies.

As a large predatory bird, the bald eagle plays an important role on the California Channel Islands. For more about bald eagle recovery SEE Video: Return Flight: Restoring the Bald Eagle to the Channel Islands by the Filmmakers Collaborative 

Celebrating Island Foxes, Bald Eagles and the Endangered Species Act

courtesy of NPS, Island Fox Recovery Group

December 28th is the 40th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This vital legislation was implemented during President Richard Nixon's administration, along with the Migratory Bird Act, the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Both political parties came together to improve the environment. Forty years later, there is much to celebrate.

Channel Island foxes were faced with extinction on four islands between 1998 and 2001. In 2004, island foxes on San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina were granted Endangered Species status resulting in additional protection and financial support for conservation efforts.

courtesy of P. Sharp, IWS, Island Fox Recovery Group

The ESA also played a vital role in protecting the bald eagle and restoring it to the Channel Island ecosystem. The interconnection between the island fox and the bald eagle meant that the survival of the island fox was dependent on the bald eagle's recovery. The role of the bald eagle on the Channel Islands.  

Protection under the ESA and conservation efforts have helped the bald eagle return from the edge of extinction. Island foxes are similarly benefiting. In less than ten years since their listing as an endangered species, island populations have shown dramatic increases and three populations have reached recovery levels. Early reports from Santa Rosa Island this fall suggest that the island fox population on Santa Rosa is now climbing toward recovery as well.

A major factor in saving the island fox has been the collaboration between government agencies, scientists, non-profit organizations and private individuals like you. Each year representatives from all of the Channel Islands, with island foxes, meet to share information and problem solve together. 

This December as we celebrate the Endangered Species Act and the success of island fox recovery, financial support to continue the annual Island Fox Recovery Group Meeting is in jeopardy. FIF knows that nothing is more important for the future of island foxes than bringing all of the people who work with the island fox together to share information. When everyone is in the same room, we save money, time and island foxes.

Help us raise $3,000 to support the annual Island Fox Recovery Group Meeting. It is a small investment, sure to reap conservation rewards. Please donate at the "Special Funding Need" donation button on the right.  

Find out more about the Endangered Species Act http://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/

What Does The Fox Say?

Since a music video with singers dressed as foxes went viral, the refrain "What does the fox say?" has become a recurring question.

Well we have an answer. The island fox BARKS!

Watch the video below taken in the field by biologist Calvin Duncan on Santa Catalina Island.

Island foxes bark to declare their territory. They may be small in size, but Channel Island foxes are big in personality.

Now you know what the fox REALLY says.

Radio Collars Protect Island Foxes

courtesy of Kevin Schafer

Island foxes are making a strong recovery across the Channel Islands, but the need to monitor their populations continues.
 
This past year, in 2013, three radio-collared island foxes were killed by golden eagle predation. Two foxes were killed by a golden eagle on San Miguel Island and one on Santa Cruz Island. Biologists do not know if the island foxes were killed by the same golden eagle or by two different golden eagles. The distance between the islands can be easily managed by a single large eagle. However, in the past, golden eagles have often preyed on island foxes in a specific area when they have been successful.

As the populations of island foxes have increased, the cost of radio-collaring all adults has become prohibitive. Radio-tracking collars now cost $300 each. A representative number of island foxes are radio-collared on each island–approximately 5% to 11% of individual island foxes on each of the northern islands. 

golden eagle at Denali Nat'l Park, courtesy of NPS

For each radio-collared island fox killed by a golden eagle, there is the possibility of several non-collared foxes being impacted as well. Island foxes are well camouflaged for their habitat. When an island fox without a radio collar is killed by a golden eagle it is difficult to know the incident happened, little alone to find the fox's remains. 

Because radio-tracking collars give off a specific signal when a fox is no longer living, radio collars are vital tools for locating individual island foxes and responding quickly to determine why that animal has died. Island Fox CSI

On Santa Catalina Island this past year biologists were on the look out for stowaway raccoons carrying disease. But in 2013 they encountered a new invader–a northern opossum that hitchhiked on a private boat and made its way onto the island. Introduced animals pose a serious disease threat to island foxes. Canine distemper 

Radio-tracking collars are the island foxes' best defense against unexpected threats. To-date Friends of the Island Fox supporters have funded 96 radio collars. 

The Foxy Ladies of El Segundo Ladies Golf Club

$300 Helps protect island foxes. Who has funded radio-tracking collars? 

• Classes of school children
• Zoo keepers
• Zoo docents from across the country
• A Baseball team
• People giving a radio collar sponsorship in honor of someone special
• And Private individuals Like You

Join with other people to help fund radio collars for island foxes. 

Counting Channel Island Foxes

How do you count a population of small animals across an island, when they are so well camouflaged?

How long did it take you to find the island fox?   photo courtesy of M. Jakubowski

Each July to December, across the six Channel Islands where island foxes live, biologists put out special capture cages to catch individual animals. These wire box-traps have a door that snaps shut when the fox steps on a trigger plate at the rear of the box.

The number of cages put out each night and the manner in which they are arranged differs between islands and land managers. Tim Coonan, senior biologist for Channel Islands National Park explains that on Santa Rosa and San Miguel "Traps are deployed in small grids." These grids typically are stretched over rolling hills. The grid pattern may be two traps by six traps wide or three traps by six traps wide. The capture-trap locations are spaced approximately 250 meters apart with the capture cages usually under bushes or scrub. The cage is covered with  burlap to further protect the fox from the elements.

Cages are baited with fragrant substances particularly interesting to island foxes. Each cage has food and water. The grid of cages is checked each morning. Foxes in the cages are first scanned for their microchip ID. Biologist Calvin Duncan explains why this is important.

Each individually identified island fox is counted. This year's pups are counted separately to determine an estimated fertility rate. Pups born in April are old enough to be on their own, but they usually are somewhat smaller than adults and will not yet have received an ID microchip. While in-hand, the island fox receives a health check, vaccinations and an ID microchip or radio tracking collar if needed.

On Catalina Island capture cages are put out along lines called "strings." On mountainous terrain, strings of cages are more practical than grids. On all of the islands, actual numbers of individual island foxes caught during the fall are entered into various population modeling software to determine the best estimate for the total population. After strenuous weeks of counting in the field, it takes months in the office to produce reliable numbers. That is why the number of island foxes counted in the fall becomes official in June of the following year.

These are the official island fox population numbers through fall of 2012.

• San Miguel Island - 540, up from a low of 15 in the year 2000
• Santa Rosa Island - 637, up from a low of 15 in the year 2000
• Santa Cruz Island - 1,354 , up from a low of ~62 in the year 2002
• Santa Catalina Island - 1,502 , up from a low of ~103 in 2000

Notice how Santa Catalina and San Miguel both showed slight population drops last year. Biologists believe this a sign the populations are stabilizing at their natural levels. Drought this year may impact populations as well. Notice too how Santa Rosa is finally showing robust population increase. We hope this population will continue to recover. Whether the numbers are up or down, counting island foxes is the only way we can have the best estimate of population recovery.

Island Fox Teaching Trunk

Teachers and educators 

you can check out the Friends of the Island Fox 

Teaching Trunk!

The self-contained, lockable trunk comes with a variety of biofacts, like skull replicas and footprint casts. Students can compare the island fox to its ancestor species the gray fox or to larger relatives like the coyote and the gray wolf. Compare bald eagle and golden eagle skulls and eggs. How do they match up to the island fox?

The trunk also comes with a notebook of educational activities, videos, island species information and even art projects.

Create a story using footprints from predator and prey animals on the Channel Islands. Cast prints of fox footprints or make origami foxes.

The Teaching Trunk is checked out on a first-come basis for a two week interval. Check out is FREE but an individual will need to sign an agreement of responsibility for the return of items. 

Schools involved with the     Fox Ambassador Program or with scheduled classroom visits receive priority.

To check out the Teaching Trunk e-mail Keri at islandfoxnews@gmail.com



To schedule a Friends of the Island Fox presentation contact Pat at pat@islandfox.org

FIF Funds 500 Microchips for Island Fox Identification

We started with a goal of 250 microchips and with your help 

we funded 500!

island fox in a safe capture cage

That means 500 young island foxes captured during annual counting this fall will receive microchips that will identify those individual animals for the rest of their lives. 

scanner reads electronic microchip under the skin

Why are microchips so important to the conservation of the endangered island fox?

Calvin Duncan, Wildlife Biologist for the Catalina Island Conservancy, explains:

By scanning each microchip while the fox is still in the trap and checking the data we can limit the amount of time, or occurrences, that an animal is handled by humans by immediately releasing foxes that have already been captured that year. They [microchips] also support our ability to make sure each fox receives the necessary vaccines and in the proper doses. Proper identification of each fox is probably the most important aspect of our recovery and research efforts.

Microchips provide information across the life of an individual island fox, like “Burnie Boots.” Burnie’s Story

Because individual animals can be quickly identified, we now understand that male island fox pups tend to disperse as far as possible from their parents’ territory, while females tend to stay near by. On Catalina Island there is a small isthmus between the large part of the island and a small area to the northwest. Few island foxes venture across the isthmus and it was thought they were males dispersing to find territory. However, a microchip helped researchers identify a trailblazing female that also made the journey. 

How does a passive identification tag or microchip work?

Each microchip costs $10 but the investment in island fox conservation is priceless.