What makes the Island fox unique?
The island fox, Urocyon littoralis, is the smallest North American canid and the largest of only four mammals endemic to the California Channel Islands. This relative of the mainland grey fox is found on the six largest of eight islands, and each island population is classified as a distinct subspecies. Why does it need help? Species endemic to islands may be especially vulnerable to extinction. Predation by a non-native species, the golden eagle, led to a drastic decline of island foxes on the northern Channel Islands during the later half of the 1990s. Scientists have suggested that the introduction of feral pigs, as well as the decline of the primarily fish-eating bald eagle due to anthropogenic impacts, have facilitated colonization of the Channel Islands by golden eagles. In response to the fox decline, the National Park Service (NPS) convened a panel of experts in 1999. This Island Fox Conservation Working Group is a loose affiliation of individuals and organizations participatin
