Rediscovery of the Sierra Nevada Red Fox: A New Hope for Survival
The Sierra Nevada red fox was thought to have vanished from the mountain range bearing its name.
Recent detections by scientists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife near the eastern boundary of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks offer hope that the fox’s population could be growing or inhabiting a wider area than previously thought, increasing its chances of survival.
The recent discovery of the Sierra Nevada red fox in many more places than previously thought is exciting news for scientists and wildlife enthusiasts.
The fox, which is not much larger than a house cat, has extraordinary hearing that allows it to locate small rodents even when they are hidden under a layer of snow.
For much of the 20th century, scientists and conservationists believed that hunting and trapping had decimated the Sierra Nevada red fox population to the point of extinction.
Trapping was banned in 1974 and the fox was listed as threatened in California in 1980.
In 2021, the federal government listed the Sierra Nevada population as endangered.
The discovery of a small group of foxes at Sonora Pass in 2010 gave conservationists hope that the species still had a presence in the Sierra, specifically in the northern end of Yosemite National Park.
The recent discoveries of the Sierra Nevada red fox are a source of great satisfaction for the Fish and Wildlife biologists who have put in extensive effort to research and understand the creatures.
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