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Friends of the Island Fox

Friends of the Island Fox, Inc and Eclipse-1 Media

Reference materials on Channel Island fox: its biology, behavior, habitat, research, endangered status and conservation efforts. Home of Friends of the Island Fox a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. FIF is dedicated to preserving the island fox in the wild and providing education outreach to schools and communities.

science & medicine natural sciences

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Fox Foto Friday - Island Fox Status

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2026/02/20

photo courtesy of Megan SarrailIsland foxes are a model of conservation success!In August of 2016, island foxes were removed from federal Endangered Species status on four islands. Over the past ten years, their survival has been monitored using radio tracking collarsand annual health checks.California's February-2026 issued "State and Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Animals of California" lists island foxes as a California State "Threatened" species on all islands.Why are island foxes

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"Date with a Fox" on Island Fox Health Checks

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2026/02/07

Join Friends of the Island Fox for:"Date with a Fox"Tuesday, Feb. 10, 20266:30 pm PTwith Jessica Sanchez, DVMIsland Fox Health Checks: From Exam to ResearchHow are wild island foxes handled during annual health checks?What data determines a healthy island fox?What measures are taken to safeguard island fox health into the future?How do island foxes contribute to ongoing research investigating their health, diet, and relationship to island ecology?In this online Zoom program, FIF Board member and

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3 Kinds of Radio Tracking Collars to Monitor Island...

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2026/01/21

Look who received a GPS tracking collar that you helped fund!This young female island fox lives at the tip top of Santa Rosa Island in Channel Islands National Park. The GPS collar she's wearing was refurbished with donations to Friends of the Island Fox. The movements of this fox, documented by her collar, will help tell the story of her life: Where and how large is her territory? What resources can she access? Combined with dietary info, it will reveal how she is interacting with the island

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FIF Research Grant Expands Investigation of Link...

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2026/01/19

Friends of the Island Fox happily announces that the 2025 Research Grant was awarded to Kimberly Schoenberger to expand her investigation of connections between island fox genetics and health: Transcriptomics of the Channel Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis) through RNA-seq.Schoenberger is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Southern California and works with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. This second year of grant support will fund RNA genetic sequencing of an additional 40 foxes

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Vaccinating Island Foxes is an Annual Need

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/12/02

Companion dogs are vaccinated against canine distemper annually and so are island foxes.This Since June biologists have been out in the field across the Channel Islands vaccinating island foxes against rabies and canine distemper virus. The vaccine being administered across 4 islands was provided by donors like you. Who's helping fund vaccinations?Did you know?Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a dog version of the measles virus. It's highly contagious like measles, entering the body through the

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"Date with a Fox" - Sylvie's Story

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/11/04

Do you remember this island fox?In the Fall of 2023 this young female island fox was found injured on San Nicolas Island. Her story demonstrates the power of people working together toward a positive goal. Federal and state governmental agencies, biologists, zoos, private individuals, and Friends of the Island Fox donors, all came together to give this island fox a second chance.Join Friends of the Island Fox for a virtual programDate with a Fox - Sylvie's StoryTuesday, Nov. 11, 20256:30 pm PTMake a

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Celebrating 20 Years of Island Fox Conservation and...

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/10/22

Pat Meyer meets Jane Goodall in 2006Friends of the Island Fox (FIF) was founded in 2005, when Channel Island foxes were critically endangered on four islands.See a short history of the organization presented during our August "Date with a Fox" on-line program and hear from FIF Board member Justin Purnell about a fieldwork study program for high school students that provides a personal experience with the island ecosystem.Friends of the Island Fox is partnering with the Field Studies Cooperative to

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New Technology for Monitoring Island Foxes

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/08/18

Monitoring island fox survival is vital to protecting the vulnerable and small populations on six separate Channel Islands. (Current island fox status)Checking for the individual radio signals from 50–60 individual island foxes across an entire island every two weeks, can require many staff hours. Reducing staffing hours would make island-fox monitoring less expensive?Enter a new technology referred to as "Digipeater." The collar pictured above is one of the 10 new Digipeater radio collars funded by

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Island Fox Status Update 2025

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/07/14

In 2024, island foxes remained healthy. Normal rainfall levels led to population balancing; high density populations decreased in number and low density populations increased. San Clemente Island, however, realized a third consecutive year of population decline. Concern for these island foxes grows because a specific cause for the decline remains unknown.island fox on San Clemente IslandThe following is an update across the Channel Islands from notes compiled by Friends of the Island Fox at the

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Vaccinating Island Foxes Takes a Community

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/06/12

$15,322 of vaccine is headed into the field to protect island foxes!Donors like you made this possible!courtesy M. Navarro, NPSWhy do island foxes need to be vaccinated annually?Canine distemper virus (CDV) caused a catastrophic decline of Santa Catalina Island foxes 26 years ago. Evolving in isolation on their islands, island foxes haven't developed immunity to typical canine diseases. To protect populations,each yearat least 100 island foxes are vaccinated on each island against this deadly dog

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Metabarcoding Reveals the Genetic Fingerprints of...

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/06/01

Scat samples from island spotted skunks and island foxes were collected last December on Santa Cruz Island. The samples were part of a trial research project to determine if a conservation working dog, Moose, could accurately locate and identify island spotted skunk scat. Meet Moose; How accurate was Moose?A total of 15 island spotted skunk scats were compared to island fox scats using metabarcoding.Metabarcoding is a process that takes a general biological sample and sifts out short sections of DNA

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A Nose for Identifying a Species

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/05/29

Last December, Friends of the Island Fox worked with The Nature Conservancy and Working Dogs 4 Conservation on a project to see if a specially trained dog could track down island spotted skunk dens and scat. (See Moose the conservation working dog)courtesy of TNC and WD4CIn the initial project, Moose used his specially trained nose to locate 11 scat samples. Two scat samples were also found by humans. The samples were sent to the Genetics Lab at UC Davis and Friends of the Island Fox helped fund the

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Fox Foto Friday - Creating a Living Library

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/04/04

What's in these vitals?courtesy L. Brenner, TNCIsland fox blood samples going back decades.During annual health check-ups, samples are taken of island fox blood. Blood samples can be used to screen for increased antibodies to a specific virus, to check for toxins, or to provide genetic information.These island fox blood samples from Santa Cruz Island are currently being archived and prepared for long-term cryogenic storage at the Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB) at the University of New

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Friends of the Island Fox Research Grant 2025

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/03/19

Friends of the Island Foxis currently accepting applications through June 15for the FIF 2025 Research GrantDownload Grant ApplicationIn 2025, Friends of the Island Fox is offering up to $7,000 in support to research projects benefiting greater understanding of the island fox and the Channel Island ecosystem.From the genetic impacts of near extinction and specific genetic influences on health to drought impacts on fox diet and counting island spotted skunks, FIF supports research to improve the

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"Date with a Fox" - Investigating Causes of Death in...

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/03/10

Join Friends of the Island Fox for an insightful look into island fox health with veterinary pathologist, Leslie Woods, Ph.D."Date with a Fox" Zoom ProgramMortalities in the Channel Island Fox(Urocyon littoralis)The important role of postmortem examinations Tuesday, March 18 at 6:30 pm PTLeslie Woods, Professor Emerita of the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory at the School of Veterinary Medicine at U.C. Davis has been investing island fox health since 2010.Though retired, she

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FIF Supports Research into the Impact of a Genetic...

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/02/27

When a population declines to a small number of survivors and then increases dramatically over the next few generations, there are always questions about genetic issues.Meet Elisabeth Leung a student at the University of California at Riverside. Working with her advisor Professor Ellie Armstrong, Leung is “Exploring founder contributions from the captive island fox breeding programs for Santa Rosa and San Miguel Island using genomic sequencing.”FIF is supporting Leung’s research because she is

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Conservation Working Dogs and Zoos Helping Wildlife

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/02/11

photo courtesy of TNC and WD4CMeet “Moose” a hard-working canine with the nonprofit organization Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C).Moose recently completed a tour of duty on Santa Cruz Island as part of a multi-organizational effort to find a better way to gather information on island spotted skunks.Island spotted skunks only live on Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands. As island foxes recovered on these islands, island spotted skunks seemed to have declined. There is concern for these rare little

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Reaching a New Milestone - 440 Radio Collars

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/01/30

When does 1+1 = 440?When an eight-year-old Island Fox Ambassador joins forces with a long-time island fox donor to fund FIF's 440th radio-tracking collar.Rose was along for the ride when her sister Joy chose Channel Islands National Park as one of the parks she'd like to visit as part of the "Every Kid Outside" National Park pass for 4th graders. Visiting from her family home in North Carolina, little sister, Rose became an island fox fan.The sisters had sewn projects to raise funds for their trip,

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Training Biologists to Be Investigators When an...

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2025/01/21

Dr. Jessica Sanchez overviews Necropsy Workshop In November 2024, Friends of the Island Fox sponsored the 3rd "Island Fox Necropsy Workshop" in collaboration with the Santa Barbara and San Diego Zoos. This workshop was held to train island managers and field biologists to investigate island fox mortalities and determine cause of death. In this blog post, wildlife veterinarian and FIF board member, Dr. Jessica Sanchez, describes how necropsies are preformed and why they are such an important part of

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Date with a Fox - "Lewis" of the Santa Barbara Zoo

Friends of the Island Fox ·

2024/11/13

Meet Lewis at the Santa Barbara Zoo!In September, FIF and Santa Barbara Zoo Animal Care Staff did a live talk via ZooLife with a video camera watching Lewis in his habitat.If you missed this daytime event, you an still see Lewis in action. How do zoos care for these tiny predators? How do they encourage natural behaviors?Watch FIF &Animal Care Staff from the Santa Barbara Zoo for"Date with a Fox""Date with a Fox" is FIF's quarterly FREE virtual program (Past "Date with a Fox" programs).You'll

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Friends of the Island Fox

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