The most common member of the Fox family is the Red Fox. They
have a wide distribution in the northern hemisphere and were introduced into
Australia where they colonized the country in less than one hundred years. From
this information, we can deduce that they are very adaptable animals, and are a
successful invasive species as well.
But we’re not going to discuss the Red Fox, which is one
species of fox, and not endangered. There are, by the way, twenty-five species of fox
and a number of sub-species. We’re not going to discuss any of those either.
Today we are going to take a look at a very endangered, as a matter of fact, a
critically endangered fox called the Island Fox.
This magnificent canid is found only on the Channel Islands
off the California coast. There are eight Channel Islands and the Island Fox lives on
six of them. The Island Fox, which evolved from the mainland Gray Fox over 10,000 years ago, is the smallest of all the fox species. They look like the
Gray Fox, but they are much smaller in size. The markings on their faces, the
black borders between the lips and between the eyes and nose, are specific to
the Island Fox. Their coat is a grizzled black and gray and there is a
distinct black stripe that runs along the top of their tail.
Interestingly enough, it is not man who has contributed to
the decline of the Island Fox. It is an eagle. In fact the Golden Eagle has become
a major player and predator. By 2000 there were only fifteen
individuals on San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands, and less than eighty on Santa
Cruz. Shortly thereafter, in 2004, the federal government listed the Island Fox
as endangered. The IUCN, which you know, I always quote, has them listed as critically endangered.
Captive breeding and reintroduction programs, conducted by
the Nature Conservancy, and the California government have proved successful.
Also, there has been a very successful program to relocate the golden eagles,
and reintroduce bald eagles to the islands.
The Island Fox mates for life, and they communicate through
sight, sound and smell. They also 'talk' to each other via facial expression and
body posture. Like most canids, the Island Fox will mark its territory along
their boundaries and pathways.
In my last few posts, we have looked at a number of wolves,
and now the Island Fox is on my mind, hence the reason why I am sharing this
information with you.
Oh, there is one more reason, and it’s a fun one. My
daughter, Katie, asked me the other night what a fox sounds like. The question
made me stop to think, because I don’t know if I have ever heard the sound of a
fox. Katie decided that it would be absolutely necessary for me to know what they sound like and
offered the following video, which I hope you and your children will have fun
with. I know I did.
Thank you for stopping by. If you would like to know more
about the Island Fox, I recommend the following two sources:
My sincerest thanks to arkive.org for their information and
pictures, and to you dear Readers, for stopping by to learn about the Island
Fox. If it’s your first time visiting, please feel free to share my page with your friends and family, join
to follow, or leave a comment.
Enjoy!
J.E. Rogers
