Catalina's Foxes are Back!

A radiocollared Catalina Island Fox
(Urocyon littoralis catalinae)

The first year I lived on Catalina, I rarely saw a Catalina Island Fox -- we felt very lucky when we came across one. But all that has changed. These days we see foxes regularly, even on short trips around the Isthmus. These sightings are exciting – after all, just seven years ago this species was listed as endangered by the US Federal Government.

Anecdotes like ours, in and of themselves, are not convincing evidence that fox populations have recovered on Catalina Island. But our impression that foxes are more abundant is borne out by population estimates made by the Catalina Island Conservancy.  According to a January 19, 2012 LA Times story, there are now 1542 foxes on the island. The Catalina Island fox is back!