The island fox’s incredible comeback May 20, 2019

The island fox’s incredible comeback

Meet the island fox, a petite resident of California’s Channel Islands National Park and a true comeback kid. The house-cat-sized creature is endemic to the islands, meaning it’s found nowhere else on Earth. In the 1990s, scientists observed the island fox population on Santa Cruz Island had dropped to fewer than 100 animals. The decline was attributed largely to golden eagles, who moved into new territory after bald eagle populations declined and found the island foxes to be easy prey. (Golden eagles are more prodigious hunters than bald eagles.) Environmental groups launched an effort to bring back the island fox, in part by relocating golden eagles, and by 2015, the population on Santa Cruz Island had rebounded to about 1,750. That’s good news for the fox–and for the entire island ecosystem. As the eagle situation demonstrated, most things in nature are interconnected.

© Ian Shive/Tandem Motion + Stills

palette

Today in History

May 20, 2018Who doesn’t love a ‘Puppy’?
May 20, 2020It s World Bee Day
May 20, 2021Happy Bee Day to you
May 20, 2022World Bee Day
May 20, 2023World Bee Day
May 20, 2024World Bee Day
May 20, 2025World Bee Day
May 20, 2026World Bee Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Oct 4, 2018From Sputnik to extraterrestrial storms
Mar 17, 2023St. Patricks Day in County Waterford, Ireland
Sep 2, 2018Row, row, row your gondola
Mar 1, 2024Womens History Month
Aug 6, 2018Jamaica celebrates its independence
Feb 24, 2024Almond trees in full bloom, California
Dec 4, 2020Protecting wildlife today and tomorrow
May 1, 2023Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Oct 10, 2022Indigenous Peoples Day
Dec 11, 2025International Mountain Day
Feb 1, 2018Stuben am Arlberg, Austria
Dec 17, 2021Bournemouth beach huts
Jul 28, 2022Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park
Aug 4, 2025Great gray owls in their nest, Finland
Nov 25, 2022Native American Heritage Day
May 30, 2018‘The memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever’
Dec 20, 2025Christmas star lanterns, Germany
Mar 16, 2020I ll call for pen and ink
Jul 15, 2019Marine Day in Japan
Oct 21, 2018Welcome to El Cervantino
Dec 15, 2018A long winter’s nap, perhaps?
Oct 25, 2019The lemurs of Madagascar
Apr 23, 2021A house of grand scale(s)
Jan 29, 2021So, how long till springtime?
Jul 15, 2018GOAL!
Apr 3, 2023National Find a Rainbow Day
May 9, 2020Here’s looking at you, teachers
Aug 10, 2020Kings of the Kalahari
Oct 13, 2020Where can you find a red fox?
Oct 18, 2024Autumn in Central Park, New York