How is the island fox endangered?

Answer 1

The island fox is endangered because of rapid declines in population. The population is due to the golden eagle preying on the island fox. Golden eagles ate the feral pigs until they were exterminated, then switched to the island fox.

Answer 2

Disease on Santa Catalina Island - The island foxes on Santa Catalina became endangered when a wild North American raccoon was accidentally transported on a boat and escaped onto the island in the late 1990s. Canine distemper virus, a fatal dog disease, was passed from this raccoon to the Catalina island foxes. By 2000, nearly 90% of the Catalina population had died from the distemper virus.

Answer 3

It is not endangered but listed as "near threatened." It is especially vulnerable to diseases the domestic dog may carry. A canine distemper outbreak in 1998 killed approximately 90% of Santa Catalina Island's foxes, reducing the population from 1,300 to 103 in 2000. A vaccination program has been initiated to protect Catalina Island foxes from canine distemper. After several years of carefully trapping the foxes and vaccinating them against distemper and rabies, their population has reached 1,717 in 2015.

Answer 4

The population of island foxes has made a comeback and it is no longer listed as endangered.

Answer 5

Yes, they are critically endangered.