The Island fox conservation program is our most developed program. Not only do we provide in situ (protecting an animal in its natural habitat) support to the National Park Service, we also maintain the Island Fox Studbook and participate in the annual Recovery Team meetings. We encourage you to read the information below to find out more about this important program.
What makes the Island fox unique?
The island fox, Urocyon littoralis, is the smallest North American canid and the largest of only four mammals endemic to the California Channel Islands. This relative of the mainland grey fox is found on the six largest of eight islands, and each island population is classified as a distinct subspecies.
Why does it need help?
Species endemic to islands may be especially vulnerable to extinction. Predation by a non-native species, the golden eagle, led to a drastic decline of island foxes on the northern Channel Islands during the later half of the 1990s. Scientists have suggested that the introduction of feral pigs, as well as the decline of the primarily fish-eating bald eagle due to anthropogenic impacts, have facilitated colonization of the Channel Islands by golden eagles. In response to the fox decline, the National Park Service (NPS) convened a panel of experts in 1999. This Island Fox Conservation Working Group is a loose affiliation of individuals and organizations participating in island fox conservation. Golden eagle predation, disease and parasites were identified as primary threats to the fox. A striking example of the effects of disease on this insular carnivore was the decimation of the Santa Catalina Island fox population in 1999 due to an outbreak of canine distemper - approximately ninety percent of the population perished.
What is happening now?
The panel recommended that a number of steps be taken to recover the northern island fox populations, including golden eagle capture and relocation, bald eagle restoration (which would help in displacing golden eagles), and removal of feral pigs (a non-native prey base for golden eagles and a destructive force in the habitat). The group further recommended that the island fox be listed as an endangered species and that island foxes be taken into captivity on San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands for protection and to establish a captive propagation and release program. Accordingly, the NPS placed 14 of 15 remaining foxes on San Miguel Island into captive pens on the island that same year. Similar actions were taken on Santa Rosa Island in 2000, and on Santa Cruz Island in 2002. In 2001, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recommended that four of the six island fox subspecies (from Santa Rosa, San Miguel, Santa Cruz, and Santa Catalina) be listed as endangered, and those four subspecies were placed on the federal list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants in 2004. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service took over administration of island fox recovery. The Island Fox Conservation Working Group, which had met annually prior to this, was structurally reorganized into the Island Fox Working Group under the umbrella of the Integrated Island Fox Recovery Implementation Team. The Team is currently continuing the multi-institutional collaborative effort to restore the Island fox populations to health. Federal agencies, private non-profit organizations, and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) are among those institutions involved in this effort. Cooperation is the key to bringing the islands back to a balance which will be healthy for not only the foxes, but also other native species.
NPS has achieved its goal for foxes in captivity on each of the islands (40 foxes per island), and in 2004 began releases back into the wild. Currently there are 14 adult foxes in the wild on San Rosa and 10 on San Miguel. One pair successfully bred in the wild on Santa Rosa Island last spring (2005), and this year's breeding success has yet to be assessed. These releases to the wild are the first hopeful step toward the recovery of these populations.
What is the Santa Barbara Zoo doing for the Island fox?
The Santa Barbara Zoo became involved in island fox conservation in 1999, first as a member of the Island Fox Conservation Working Group, and currently as a member of the Integrated Island Fox Recovery Implementation Team. Our objectives for this program are to assist in both ex situ (removing animal from threatened habitat) and in situ conservation work. For island fox recovery, this involves dedicating our Animal Care staff to time working on the islands in the captive facilities, providing emergency on call veterinary assistance, procuring and donating essential medical equipment, attending all necessary meetings, and working to increase mainland support for island fox recovery.
On the Islands
Our in situ work involves donating staff time and medical supplies to the captive facilities on the Islands. We have been assisting the NPS with captive fox caretaking on the Islands since 2000. Zoo staff are called to provide relief assistance to the NPS as primary fox technicians on the islands. Veterinarians from the Zoo have been utilized regularly on an on-call basis for emergency treatment of sick and injured foxes. To date, our veterinary staff have contributed over 150 hours of zoo-sponsored time on the islands, while our animal care staff have contributed over 1,130 hours of zoo-sponsored time to working at the captive breeding facilities on the islands. In the past five years, we have donated over $3000 worth of veterinary medical equipment to facilitate treatment of foxes on the islands.
At Home
A primary goal of our conservation work is to maximize the local public understanding of the status of the island fox. In addition to exhibiting Island foxes, we actively promote the island fox through special events and lectures designed to generate greater public interest and awareness. In addition to exhibiting island foxes, we hold special events and lectures at the zoo that are designed to generate greater public interest and awareness. Since 2002 we have annually hosted the Fox Festival, an event that includes informational booths, games, and talks by people involved in island fox conservation. Past speakers at this event have included zoo keepers, zoo research staff, and NPS staff. The Zoo’s Island Fox Conservation Program has been featured twice in Zoo News, our quarterly member newsletter that is mailed to over 13,000 households. Throughout the life of our island fox program, we have given lectures and presentations about the island fox at local colleges and to a number of public groups.
Coordinating the Effort
The Zoo has taken a leadership role in coordinating the mainland zoo community's contributions to island fox recovery. In order to facilitate rapid information sharing among institutions holding or interested in holding foxes, we created and maintain the island fox listserv. We have facilitated an awareness of the resources available from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) for small captive population management, which led to the development and utilization of tools such as the Island Fox Studbook, which we maintain, and the AZA's Population Management Center.
The Zoo hosted Island Fox Husbandry Workshops in 2001, 2003, and 2005. These workshops have enabled those involved in the fox recovery effort to exchange and consolidate knowledge about the island fox, especially in regard to proper husbandry of the captive breeding population. The Zoo has participated in collaborative research on the Island fox and has conducted observational studies on captive fox pup development, parental behavior, activity budgets, and habitat preferences, with the goal of gathering qualitative and quantitative information to aid all institutions in determining optimal captive management strategies.
The Future of the Program
The Zoo intends to continue its work in this program through expansion of in situ support, contributing to the growing knowledge base of the species through scientific studies, and continuing its efforts to form links between the in situ conservation efforts and the zoo field. We have received a great deal of positive feedback from the National Park Service, our primary in situ partner, regarding the value of our contributions: in the field, through our participation in meetings, and through the hosting of husbandry workshops. In April of 2004, the NPS awarded the Zoo with the Partnership Achievement Award in appreciation and recognition of its dedicated and generous contribution to the Island Fox Recovery Program. Our Island Fox Conservation Program continues to be our most outstanding contribution to local conservation, and will hopefully assist in recovering this species from the brink of extinction.
 The Zoo has hosted three Island fox Husbandry Workshops (2001, 2003, and 2005). These workshops have brought together all those working hands-on with the foxes to discuss concerns and husbandry standards for the species, and have been instrumental in exchanging and consolidating knowledge and identifying questions concerning the Island fox, particularly in regard to its husbandry needs. Staff from the National Park Service, the Institute for Wildlife Studies, and many of the zoos holding Island foxes attend.
The Zoo has participated in collaborative research on the Island fox and conducted independent research, with the goal of gathering qualitative and quantitative information on Island foxes and sharing that information with hopes of improving captive management. Towards this purpose, we created the Island fox listserv in order to quickly provide information to any zoos holding foxes, or to any interested institutions.
The Future of the Program
Our Zoo intends to continue its work in this program through expansion of in-situ support, contributing to the growing knowledge base of the species through scientific studies, and continuing its efforts to form links between the in-situ conservation efforts and the zoo field. We have received a great deal of positive feedback from the NPS, our primary in-situ partner, concerning the value of our contributions both in the field and in the form of our participation in meetings and hosting of husbandry workshops. Being an integral part of this complex program has provided excellent opportunities to share our personal experiences with our guests and the community. Our Island Fox Conservation Program continues to be our most outstanding contribution to local conservation, and will hopefully assist in recovering this species from the brink of extinction.
|
