Channel Island Fox

Urocyon littoralis

The Channel Island fox is the only carnivore unique to California and is the smallest fox species in the United States. It is a cat-sized carnivore that colonized the Channel Islands approximately 10,000 years ago and is a descendant of the mainland gray fox. Though it is small in size, it is the island group’s largest native carnivore. The Channel Island fox has gray fur on its head, reddish sides and white fur on its belly throat and lower half of its face.

Height 12-13 inches
Length 23-31 inches (including tail length)
Weight 4-5 lbs

Lifespan 4-6 years; some individuals have been known to live up to 15 years

Diet

Staples Opportunistic: summer holly, cholla cactus, rose, sumac, nightshade, native deer mice, ground-nesting birds and grasshoppers and crickets seasonally.

Population

Six years ago, approximately 6,000 Channel Island foxes existed. Today, they number fewer than 1,660. On Santa Cruz Island, the fox population has fallen from 1,500 to fewer than 100 animals within a five-year period.

Range

Each subspecies of island fox inhabits a separate island. The subspecies are: Santa Cruz Island Fox (U.I. santacruzae), San Miguel Island Fox (U.I. littoralis), Santa Rosa Island Fox (U.I. santarosae) and Santa Catalina Island Fox (U.I. catalinae)

Behavior

Channel island foxes can be found in all types on habitats of the Channel islands. This includes valley and foothill grasslands, coastal sage/scrub, coastal bluff, sand dune areas, island chapparral, southern coastal oak woodland, island woodland, southern riparian woodland, pine forests and coastal marshes.

Compared with the gray fox, island foxes are relatively diurnal (active during the day). They communicate with one another through sight, sound, and smell. Visually, island foxes show signs of dominance or submission through facial expressions and body posture. They communicate by barking and sometimes growling. Their keen sense of smell plays an important role in the marking of territories.

Reproduction
Mating Season Late February-early March
Gestation Around 52 days
Litter size 1-5 pups
Channel Island foxes mate for life and breed only once a year. Born in the protection of a den, pups are blind and helpless with short dark brown fur at birth. They emerge from the den at about one month of age, much furrier but still considerably darker than adults. They begin to resemble their parents by late summer.

Threats

Years of livestock grazing have replaced native brush with open grassland and exposed the fox to new predators like the golden eagle, which moved onto the islands after DDT had eliminated bald eagle populations.

Legal Status/Protection

The Channel Island fox is listed as "rare/lower risk" by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and "threatened" by the State of California. It is protected by California state law.

How You Can Help

Help Channel Island foxes and other wildlife by adopting an animal at our Wildlife Adoption Center.
Take Action for Wildlife at our Wildlife Action Center.