Workers from the Nature Conservancy and Channel Islands National Park gather on Santa Cruz Island on Monday to release 10 young island foxes raised in captivity in the continuing effort to restore the species, which was threatened by disease and golden eagles. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)
A convoy takes the foxes to the backcountry of the island for release. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Workers from the nonprofit Institute for Wildlife Studies carry cages containing the young foxes, which are about the size of a small house cat. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)
A fox is reluctant to leave its cage. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Dave Garcelon, a biologist with the Institute for Wildlife Studies, holds a fox just before it was set loose into wooded canyons. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Garcelon is involved in the effort to restore the endangered foxes back to Santa Cruz Island. The 10 pups released into the wild were the last of a group reared in captivity. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Matt Kling, a field worker for the Institute for Wildlife Studies, helps coax a young fox out of its container (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)
A pup takes off into the wild. The young foxes will have access to feeding stations containing dog food over the next month to ease the transition from captivity. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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The fox population on the island has rebounded with the help of the breeding program, launched in 2003. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)
