California Found Just 15 Foxes Left on One Island — What Followed Was Impossible

In the late 1990s, California's island foxes were disappearing fast. On San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands, populations that had once numbered in the hundreds and thousands fell to just 15 foxes. The main threat was not hunting or habitat loss. Golden eagles had begun preying on the foxes, helped by an unusual change in the islands' ecosystem. Feral pigs and other introduced animals provided food that allowed golden eagles to establish themselves, while the decline of bald eagles had removed a natural competitor. Starting in 1999, conservationists launched an intensive recovery effort. Foxes were placed into captive-breeding programs, golden eagles were captured and relocated, feral pigs were removed from Santa Cruz Island, and bald eagles were re-established. The results were extraordinary. By 2016, the San Miguel, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz Island foxes had recovered enough to be removed from the federal endangered species list. This is the story of how a handful of foxes survived one of the most dramatic wildlife declines in California — and how restoring an entire ecosystem helped bring them back.