Santa+Catalina+Island+Fox

= Santa Catalina Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis catalinae) = = "The smallest fox species in the United States" =

= Sarah A. =

Description:
The Santa Catalina Island Fox is a member of the animal kingdom.The foxes give live birth, and birth their young in a den. The y can have 1-5 kits, or baby foxes, but average at about 2 to 3. The kits reachadulthood around 10 months and live about 6-12 years in the wild. Foxes primarily feed oninvertebrates like mollusks, insects, crayfish and earthworms, however; they also love fruitwith their favorite being apples, plums and blackberries. Foxes also consume a variety of vertebrate such as rabbits, voles, mice, eggs, birds, reptiles, amphibians, as well as fish.

Physical Description:

 * [[image:http://www.fws.gov/pacific/news/2001/fox2a.jpg width="461" height="352" align="right"]]
 * Adult males can weigh up to 2 kilograms, and females about 1.88 kilograms
 * Body length can vary from 59 to 79 cm
 * Tail length is 11 to 29 cm
 * Shoulder height is 12 to 15 cm
 * Fur color ranges from grayto honey brown to red

[[image:http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/userfiles/images/Adult%20with%20pup_sr.jpg width="216" height="307" align="left"]] Habitat:
The Santa Catalina Island Foxes are found where the name implies; Santa Catalina, off the coast of California. Since it is an island the foxes could not spread, so their range has never changed. Foxes will migrate around the island, and population densities vary.The foxes make a den where they raise their young.They prefer complex vegetation with high amounts of high density shrubs. The foxes can live in any of the biomes on the island and prefer to move around by itself,rather than in packs. It is generally a nocturnal creature, mostly active at dawn and dusk. Activity also fluctuates with the season; it is more active during the day in summer than it is it the winter.

The Santa Catalina Island foxes have suffered large population drops that had only 100 left for a long period of time. Ironically, one of the major reasons this species of fox is endangered is because of another endangered species: The Bald Eagle. Bald eagles were re-introduced to the island in an effort to bring their numbers up, and no one expected the result.Also, the remaining foxes that survived the bald eagles were almost wiped out by a mutated canine distemper virus. The Santa Catalina foxes are very sensitive to this virus that even giving them the vaccine that is for dogs is too much for them and they end up with the disease. Ear mites and tumors, invasive plants, loss of habitat, and vehicle collisions are also threats to the foxes.

Solutions:[[image:http://www.rain.org/%7Emkummel/stumpers/06sep02g.jpg width="327" height="271" align="left"]]
Scientists from the Institute for Wildlife Studies and the Catalina Island Conservancy (CIC) initiated a captive breeding program. The program included the breeding and release juvenile fox back to the wild to compensate for the large population decrease due to a canine distemper disease. Also they developed a custom vaccine for the disease, and intense monitoring and management program. CIC is a nonprofit organization responsible for protecting the island and its native inhabitants, and they own 88% (42,000 acres) of the island. They also educate those living on the island and visitors about theissues of the continued survival of the animals.

References:
Santa Catalina Island Fox: [|http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode][|=A08K] Santa Catalina island FOX: http://www.iws.org/island_fox_studies_Santa_Catalina_Island.htm Island Fox Research 2008: http://islandfox.org/pdfs/ifeagleresearch.pdf What do foxes eat? http://www.whatdotheyeat.net/what_do_foxes_eat/what_do_foxes_eat.html I sland Fox: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Fox The Catalina Island Fox Journey Towards Recovery: http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/userfiles/files/News%20&%20Media/Fox%20RecoveryV3.pdf