Fighting for Foxes

The highly endangered Channel Islands fox was once found on six of the eight Channel Islands of southern California. The rapid decline of this wild canid in the 1990s is attributed to predation from golden eagles, which colonized this area in the 1990s, attracted by nonnative feral pigs. The golden...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Smithsonian 2004-10, Vol.35 (7), p.66-66
Main Authors: Conover, Adele, Curry, Andrew
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal breeding
Animal populations
Bald eagle
Breeding of animals
Captive wild animals
Channel Islands (Calif.)
Ecosystems
Endangered species
Extinction
Fighting
Food sources
Foxes
Golden eagle
Island gray fox
Islands
Predatory animals, Control
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:The highly endangered Channel Islands fox was once found on six of the eight Channel Islands of southern California. The rapid decline of this wild canid in the 1990s is attributed to predation from golden eagles, which colonized this area in the 1990s, attracted by nonnative feral pigs. The golden eagles were once kept away by bald eagles, which did not prey upon the focused. The bald eagle population declined in the 1950s due to DDT-contaminated sediment from the Los Angeles sewer system. The first step in the restoration of fox populations is to remove the golden eagles and feral piglets, their primary prey, and then to reintroduce the bald eagle. The fox has also fallen to canine distemper.
ISSN:0037-7333
1930-5508