Island Foxes Proposed for Endangered Status

Four dwindling subspecies of island foxes were proposed as endangered species Monday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and could be granted federal protection by this time next year.

The announcement was applauded by conservationists, who have scrambled since the mid-1990s to save the foxes on three of the Channel Islands off the Ventura County coast and on Catalina Island to the south.

The foxes on the four islands numbered 4,800 in 1994. Today, only about 300 remain. Scientists believe golden eagles have devoured them on Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel islands, and that canine distemper, spread by dogs, has killed off foxes on Catalina.

“The island fox is about as close to extinction as you can possibly get, so we’re very happy the Fish and Wildlife Service has taken these steps,” said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of two organizations that last year petitioned the agency on behalf of the fox. “The listing of the fox is going to open the spigot on federal money to save it.”

About $1.6 million in federal, state and private grants has gone toward repopulating efforts since 1998, according to the National Park Service. Those funds are expected to run out by the end of 2002, and scientists say another $5 million is needed during the next decade if the docile, cat-size creatures with tufted red ears are to survive.

The push for endangered status began 18 months ago, when the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity and the Institute for Wildlife Studies in Arcata, Calif., petitioned the government.

That effort stalled a few months later, when the Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would suspend new listings because its budget was already eaten up by orders to designate habitats for listed species. In August, the government reached a settlement with conservation groups that allowed Fish and Wildlife to extend the timetables on those critical habitat designations if it would free funds to list several new species, including the island fox.

Island foxes are believed to have evolved from mainland foxes about 20,000 years ago, said Tim Coonan, a biologist heading the National Park Service’s program to save the animals. As sea levels rose and the northern Channel Islands separated, foxes on individual islands evolved into different subspecies. Those on San Miguel Island, for example, have shorter tails and longer noses than others.

In 1994, scientists began noticing the foxes’ decline. As they narrowed in on causes, the human role was apparent: People brought dogs and pigs to the islands. By the 1980s, golden eagles were relocating to the islands to prey on pigs--and discovered the foxes.

Slow Gains From Captive Breeding

Bald eagles, which scientists believe had long kept golden eagles away from the area, hadn’t hunted the fox. But bald eagles disappeared decades ago, probably as a result of DDT exposure and hunting.

By 1999, only 15 foxes remained on San Miguel Island and only 22 on Santa Rosa. Biologists have since been breeding those foxes in captivity, and their populations are now at 21 and 32, respectively. Captive breeding is about to begin on Santa Cruz, where researchers estimate only 50 remain. Perhaps 200 foxes remain on Catalina.

Scientists also are in the process of relocating golden eagles away from the islands. They plan to begin killing feral pigs and may try to bring bald eagles back. Years of captive breeding may be needed to get the fox population high enough for release into the wild. Then, the species will have to be monitored.

The government also may increase efforts to keep pet and stray dogs off the Channel Islands and, on Catalina, to monitor dogs’ health and keep them away from foxes as much as possible.

While the government’s move Monday was well-received, some researchers were disappointed that endangered status is not being considered for two other subspecies of island foxes, those found on San Nicholas and San Clemente islands, both controlled by the Navy. Scientists said there are more than 500 foxes on each island, but that the population on San Clemente has been declining significantly.