About

The Channel Island Fox is unique in that each of the channel islands has a separate subspecies! They are found on six of the eight channel islands. Having descended from the mainland gray fox, the island fox is the largest native mammal on the Channel Islands.

The island fox has a turbulent history having declined to astonishing low levels in the 90s attributed to the golden eagles that would prey on the island fox species. This was especially true on San Miguel Island, Santa Rosa Island and Santa Cruz Island where the main population of foxes resided.

Established as a breeder on the islands due to a variety of factors, the golden eagles were able to decrease the island fox population to only fifteen on San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands and around eighty on Santa Cruz Island by the turn of the century. Then in 2004, the island fox subspecies were listed as endangered.

Starting in 1999, the national park service began an island fox recovery program that included breeding and the reintroduction of the island fox plus, the removal of the golden eagle. This highly focused effort led to the reversal of the endangered population to the normal levels that are now found on the island today. Populations continue to increase and the park service looks out for threats that may harm the Channel Island Foxes moving forward.

Fun Facts

The island fox is the largest terrestrial mammal on the Channel Islands.
The island fox is one-third smaller than its mainland ancestor, the gray fox.
At 12 to 13 inches in height and 4 to 5 pounds, the island fox is about the size of a housecat.
Some individuals have been known to live up to 15 years.
Island foxes have no natural predators, allowing them to be active during daylight hours
Visually, island foxes show signs of dominance or submission through facial expressions and body posture.
They communicate by barking and sometimes growling.

Visual Features

The island fox is similar to gray fox in that they have the same gray coloring, rust color on the sides and a white body underneath. Their faces have different black, white and red patterns. Because of their geographical separation, each of the island foxes have different physical features. San Miguel Island foxes have shorter tails and longer noses for instance.

Brief History

The island fox is found six of the Channel Islands including Santa Cruz, Rosa and Miguel. They also inhabit San Nicolas and San Clemente which are owned by the US Navy and Santa Catalina Island, which is largely run by the Island Conservancy. They are believed to have arrived on the Channel Islands by rafting across The Santa Barbara Channel during the last ice age. Another theory is that humans brought the gray foxes over from the mainland and they quickly spread and evolved into smaller species after that.

The Chumash Indians who are native to the Channel Islands considered the island fox to be sacred. Island foxes mainly eat what is available to them depending on the individual island. This can range from insects and cactus to deer mice and beetles. They have on occasion been known to also feed on some of the sea life that is closer to the shore.

Conservation Efforts

The island fox is a prime example of how to successfully reverse the decline of an endangered species population.
Due to the successful conservation efforts, the Channel Island Fox is no longer a part of the endangered species list.