Santa Catalina Island Fox (Urocyon Littoralis Catalinae) by Cherise
Please help save my foxes, They're very cute; some are caged in boxes. I help them much, You can do better. Maybe send some encouraging letters. Please help, Everyone should. They have been misunderstood. They need every penny, They need our support. They're in more trouble than you with an appointment with court. These beautiful creatures are endangered, They need your help even when you're a stranger. Small like a house cat, But brave and strong, To this playful breed of the dog, We cheer and sing our song. INTRODUCTION... Have you ever heard of the Santa Catalina Island Fox? If not, it is a very endangered creature. I am here to tell you why it is endangered and how you can save it. I hope you understand that we should really try our best in saving the endangered animals from our unique world. The scientific name for this animal is Urocyon Littoralis Catalinae . Keep on reading!!! DESCRIPTION... The Santa Catalina Island Fox is a beautiful creature. It is as small as a domestic house cat and has an orange cinnamon color on the belly, neck, and legs. On the cheeks, throat, and chest is white gorgeous fur. It’s long tail has a black stripe running to the tip. It is the biggest mammal on Santa Catalina Island, but one of the smallest members of the dog family. All the foxes evolved from the Grey Fox, their closest relative, on Catalina Island. Catalina Island is one of the six California Channel Islands. Adult foxes grow 1213 inches in height and 2327 inches in width. They weigh between 36 pounds. They normally live to about 15 years. HABITAT... As mentioned earlier, this island fox lives only on one of the California Channel Islands, Santa Catalina Island, and can be found in no other place in the world. Since they have no natural predators, they hunt in daylight and communicate by barking and growling. The foxes eats mice, lizards, birds, berries, insects, cactus fruit, beetles, earwigs, and the island deer. ENDANGERED BECAUSE … Santa Catalina Island Fox is endangered because of many different reasons. One of the reasons is because of humans. People imported new mammals, such as the Golden Eagle. As a result, the eagles started preying on the foxes. This was totally unexpected. The fox
population dropped from 300100. The population drop was also caused by a virus, also brought to the island by humans. A third reason is that Catalina Island foxes always run into the middle of the road chasing their prey and end up as roadkill from vehicle collisions. SOLUTIONS... Conservationists and volunteers tried to nurse the ill foxes and officials took the food of the eagles away from the islands hoping the eagles would be lured off the island. The food was a type of boar that they imported there. After that help, the foxes’ population rose from 100300. Drivers of the Island should drive slowly at all times and the Catalina Island Conservancy should put out some signs on the road for visitors. (The foxes don’t always look both ways.) MY INSPIRATION… While I was researching, I learned that the island foxes’ current population is 1,542. People really should help all the endangered animals on the planet. It helps improve our hearts and lets us feel good about ourselves. I want to know that by writing this essay, people will finally want to learn about and help all the endangered creatures. I had lots of topics to pick from, but since this fox is found in no other place in the world, it inspired me to write about it. It would be great to have no more endangered animals to write about because they could be free in the wild and out of harm’s way.
BIBLIOGRAPHY . http://www1.islandfox.org/p/aboutislandfox.html . n.p., 30 Sept. 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2015. . "Foxes." Catalina Island Conservancy . n.p., n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2015. < http://www.catalinaconservancy.org /index.php?s=support&p=foxes>. . "Island Fox." Wildscreen Arkive . n.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015. < http://www.arkive.org/islandfox/urocyonlittoralis />. . "Island Fox." National Park Service . n.p., n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2015. < http://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/nature/islandfox .htm>. . "Catalina's Amazing Wildlife and Habitat." Catalina Island Conservancy . n.p., n.p. Web. 5 Feb. 2015. < http://www.catalinaconservancy.org /index.php?s=wildlife>.