Island Fox > Natural History > Conservation  > Studies > Recent Events > Captive Releases > Ear Tumor Study > Survival Monitoring

Island Fox - Recent Events

San Miguel

  • Status of subspecies as of 24 January 2006:
    • 66 total foxes for the subspecies (up from 15 in 1999).
      • 40 in the wild
      • 26 in captivity
  • 22 foxes released (to the wild) from the captive breeding facility since its establishment in 1999.

  • 8 pups born in the wild in 2005.

Santa Rosa

  • Status of subspecies as of 24 January 2006:
    • 73 total foxes for the subspecies (up from 14 in 2000).
      • 39 in the wild
      • 34 in captivity
  • 17 foxes released (to the wild) from the captive breeding facility since its establishment in 2000.

  • 10 pups born in the wild in 2005.

Santa Cruz

  • 24 January 2006: We are currently monitoring the survival status of 66 foxes island-wide via radio telemetry.

Santa Catalina

  • 23 Nov 2004: Released 9 captive foxes (2 adult pairs, 5 pups) to the wild. As of 25 Nov. we have recaptured (for post-release check-ups) only 3 of the 10 foxes (2 adults, 1 pup) released on 6 Nov.
  • 6 Nov 2004: We released 10 captive island foxes (4 adult pairs, 2 pups) to the wild. All 4 release sites were in areas that currently have a low fox density (based on results from island-wide trapping that was recently completed). All released foxes are radio collared and tracked regularly to monitor for survival. We also periodically capture each fox for a physical examination. The captive breeding facility is scheduled for closure later this fall and this is the first of several staggered releases.

San Nicolas

  • Annual trapping on long-term demography grids completed in August 2005.

San Clemente

  • Annual trapping on long-term demography grids completed in September 2005.
News Releases
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes that no critical habitat be designated for the federally listed island fox subspecies (on San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Santa Catalina islands).

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