|photo courtesy of Kevin Schafer|
Tani, the young island fox that we have been following on Twitter, has left her parents and faced some challenges. Tani. A few days ago she tangled with another adult island fox female and was injured. Island foxes depend on the resources in their territory and they will protect their territory from other island foxes. Tani was lucky to only be injured on her ear, but the infection she suffered left her weak and vulnerable. Fortunately, on the Channel Islands biologists in the field are able to provide some medical care to wild island foxes. (Channel Islands National Park, Santa Catalina Island and the U.S. Navy islands)
When Tani received medical treatment she also was fitted with a radio collar to track her movements. The radio collar will provide information on how far she travels from her parents home range and enable biologists to understand where a young fox establishes its own territory.
Across the islands young island foxes face challenges surviving without their parents. In the past two months several young island foxes have been hit by cars on Santa Catalina Island. Territory along roads can be attractive, but inexperienced youngsters don't know how to avoid cars. Support Watch for Foxes Signs.
This autumn Friends of the Island Fox funded our 72nd radio collar to track island foxes on the Channel Islands. Radio collars provide information on island fox movements and also alert biologists when an island fox has died. If the animal stops moving for a 6-8 hours, the collar gives off a special mortality signal. With the aid of the radio collar, biologists can locate the island fox's body and determine if the animals death marks a potential threat to other island foxes. Response to introduced disease and unexpected predation by golden eagles can happen rapidly when biologists have specific information from animals in the field. Radio collars on island foxes have helped the endangered populations on San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina Islands to make unprecedented recoveries.
|photo courtesy of Kevin Pease|
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