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PHOTOS: KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE REGISTER »ad through the population.Biologist Julia King checks the taeth of a Catalina Island fox. There were as few as 100 foxlt;OUTFOXINGA distemper outbreak nearly eliminated the Catalina Island population in 1999. Now, their numbers are at an island-high.Catching the cat-sized island fox is a simple proposition: a little cat food, it turns out, and a pungent lure.Biologists working their trap lines on Santa Catalina Island routinely recapture the same animals as they move along the island’s spine, monitoring, vaccinating and caring for what is likely one of the best-protected endangered species in the world.“They’re considered a trap-happy species because they get this positive reinforcement, Julie King, director of wildlife manage-liThis is one of the fastest recoveries of an endangered species on record.ANN MUSCAT,CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCYment at the Catalina Island Conservancy, said last week as she checked one of dozens of traps hidden in the island’s brush. “They tend to be very easy to capture over and over.”The tiny foxes, nearly wiped out in 1999 by an outbreak of canine distemper, have made what their caretakers consider to be an as-SEE FOXES* PAGE 6King prepares to release a fox after giving it a thorough check-up Friday. The fox population is up to 1,500, possibly the carrying capacity of the island because of a vaccination and captive-breeding program.
Newspaper Details
Long Beach Register
Long Beach, California, US
Wed, Nov 06, 2013
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Robert B.
USA 18 Apr 2025
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