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.
The island fox’s incredible comeback
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Going head-to-head with winter
-
It’s National Dolphin Day!
-
Río Arazas in Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Spain
-
Lake Peipus, Estonia
-
Hanging out on a limb
-
The aftermath of a meteorite
-
Castle ruins on the island of Halki, Greece
-
An inland ocean
-
Over the boardwalk
-
Extraterrestrial Culture Day
-
Przewalskis horses, Hustai National Park, Mongolia
-
Edinburgh festivals
-
Bukhansan National Park, South Korea
-
Polar bears
-
The tale of squirrels like Nutkin
-
Arrr! Can you talk like a pirate?
-
Storseisundet Bridge, Norway
-
Working for that cliffside view
-
Can you see the family resemblance?
-
The Canary Islands, Spain
-
Haghartsin Monastery, Armenia
-
Black grouses lekking
-
Apple Tree Day
-
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
-
World Rainforest Day
-
It s National Mushroom Month!
-
Mardi Gras flower power
-
The artists come to Venice
-
Bridge to infinity
-
Let’s celebrate