Have you heard about the Island Fox? They’re endemic to the Channel Islands, which are off the coast of California. There are eight islands in total, but these foxes are found on six of them, including Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, San Nicolas, San Clemente, and Santa Catalina.1
These foxes are descendants of the Gray Fox but are smaller in size. Their smaller size stems from adapting to the Channel Islands' environment.2 They are about 4-5 pounds and only stand about a foot high. They are the largest land mammal on the islands, even though they’re a very small canid species compared to other species in that group.1&2
They tend to eat a mix of vegetation and other animals, including crickets, beetles, sea figs, manzanita, and saltbushes.1
Island Foxes have faced issues with DDT and diseases.1&2 They were classified as endangered in 2004. Recovery efforts entailed captive breeding, releasing them back onto the islands, and removing invasive predators from the area.1 In 2016, they were no longer classified as endangered.2
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