Dramatic island fox decline urges ESA listing

Foxes living on California's Channel Islands are easy prey and their numbers are dwindling.

June 6, 2000
Web posted at: 2:08 p.m. EDT (1808 GMT)

By Environmental News Network staff

For 16,000 years the island fox successfully inhabited the Channel Islands offshore Southern California. In the past five years, four of the six island fox populations have declined by 90 percent.

"Sixteen thousand years of evolution are going down the drain right before our eyes," said Kieran Suckling, science and policy director of the Center for Biological Diversity.

The conservation group and the Institute for Wildlife Studies have filed a formal petition with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to list the four imperiled subspecies as "endangered" under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

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The San Miguel Island fox has dropped from 400 individuals in 1994 to 50 in 1998 to 15 in 1999. Only five of the remaining foxes are males, which means the genetic diversity of the subspecies even under the most optimistic conditions will be severely depleted. Only one San Miguel Island fox remains in the wild.

In the same time period, the Santa Rosa Island and Santa Cruz Island fox populations have been reduced to less than 100.

In only one year, 1998, the Santa Catalina fox may have declined by up to 90 percent, the researchers say.

At the top of the Catalina Island food chain, the foxes have faced few threats throughout their historical adaptation.

The eight Channel Islands offshore Southern California remain relatively isolated despite their proximity to Los Angeles.

When golden eagles began colonizing the area in the early '90s, the foxes were caught off-guard.

"The Island foxes were snacks the eagles could easily get to," said natural biologist David Garcelon, president of the Institute for Wildlife Studies. "The foxes had no vigilant response."

Since golden eagles usually hunt by daylight, researchers found that the first foxes to disappear on Santa Cruz Island were those that were more active during the day.

The colonization of the islands by golden eagles was made possible by the decline and extirpation of their natural competitor, the bald eagle, which preys primarily on fish, not mammals.

Golden eagles have also benefited from the introduction and proliferation of feral pigs in the area, Garcelon said. The pigs, in turn, have caused significant habitat degradation, further displacing the foxes from their natural food sources.

Canine distemper virus, introduced by domestic dogs, has also led to the fox's decline. "Foxes are extremely susceptible to the virus," Garcelon said.

In a move reminiscent of the emergency measures to save the California condor from extinction, biologists are removing foxes from the wild and attempting to breed them in captivity.

But recovery efforts require heavy funding. An ESA listing would guarantee that more federal dollars are committed to the fox's survival. "We desperately need more resources if we are going to starve off extinction," Garcelon said.

The island fox is the only carnivore endemic to California. "We have to do everything possible to save the island fox from extinction," said Suckling. "It is a marvelous part of California's unique heritage."

Copyright 1999, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

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Center for Biological Diversity
Institute for Wildlife Studies
Island fox recovery efforts.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
   •Endangered Species Act

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