San Joaquin Kit Fox by Dalton Shepherd

San Joaquin Kit Fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica)

The long legged, pointy eared fox of California's Central Valley and surrounding regions is a quintessential piece of California's disappearing scrub and wetland landscapes. Since its declaration as endangered on March 11, 1967, the San Joaquin Kit Fox has faced many adversities which have made rehabilitation of the beautiful creature nearly impossible. As the smallest North American member of the dog family, also known as the Canidae family, the Kit Fox is about the size of a house-cat, making it seemingly unremarkable to the people who may be irreversibly damaging its habitat. However, this curious little fox is a keystone indicator of the problems in the San Joaquin Valley, as well as an umbrella species, whose protection garners the safety of many other endangered and threatened plant and animal species that share its habitat.

Description

The San Joaquin Kit Fox is generally a shy and reclusive critter, as it is nocturnal, meaning it searches for food at night. It feeds on small animals, such as rodents, birds, and lizards, deriving all water it needs from its prey. During the day, the fox hides out in dens which it repurposes from the abandoned homes of other animals or industrial structures such as drainage pipes. Kit Foxes may use as many as 25 different dens in a year. It is believed that they do so to keep larger predators, such as coyotes and bobcats, guessing as to their whereabouts. 

Kit Fox in its Den
(via https://sites.google.com/site/sanjoaquinkitfoxjs2013/feeding-habits)

This cute little fox is small in stature, weighing in at no more than 6 pounds and measures about 30 inches from snout to tail. The Kit Fox is described as being buff, tan, or yellowish-grey in color and has large ears which, like most other members of the dog family, gives it a keen sense of hearing. This, along with other key adaptations, like a bushy tail and furry toes to insulate it from high temperatures, have helped the Kit Fox survive the arid environment of the San Joaquin Valley and its surrounding foothills. However, no number of adaptations can save this important fox from the pressures it currently feels, pressures that, if left unchanged, will ultimately lead to its permanent demise.

Reasons for Endangerment

Though its original numbers are unknown, the pre-1930's Kit Fox was so synonymous with the San Joaquin Valley that it was named for the valley itself. Post-depression San Joaquin and surrounding areas saw conversion of the natural landscape to residential and agricultural lands in order to stimulate a recovering economy. This resulted in the fragmentation of the fox's habitat, which in turn caused the population of the fox to begin to decline. Through the sixties, San Joaquin continued to be converted, and by the Kit Fox's 1967 declaration of endangerment, it had become a rare site in the valley floor.

San Joaquin Kit Fox Habitat

(via http://esrp.csustan.edu/gis/ )

The primary cause for the decline of the once abundant San Joaquin Kit Fox is extensive habitat loss. This being said, there are many secondary factors which inhibit the establishment of strong, healthy populations of Kit Fox. One of these is climate change. As the climate changes, even slightly, the fox is pushed from areas that are becoming less hospitable due to the increase in temperature our planet is experiencing. Another secondary factor endangering Kit Fox populations is poisoning by pesticides, more specifically, rodenticides. When a fox eats a poisoned rodent, it gets residually poisoned, thus killing it. These secondary factors are unlikely to completely wipe out the San Joaquin Kit Fox populations, however they are effective in hindering the establishment and reestablishment of fox populations in struggling and extirpated areas. Failure to address these and all reasons for the San Joaquin Kit Fox endangerment will result in the continued collapse of the Kit Fox population. 

Recovery Plan

Little was done to save the Kit Fox even after it was declared endangered until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USFWS for short, released an official recovery plan for upland species of the San Joaquin Valley in 1998. This recovery plan included a plan specifically for the long struggling and disappearing San Joaquin Kit Fox. The main goal which the USFWS put forward is to promote the establishment of a viable metapopulation of Kit Foxes on both public and private lands. The plan specifies that the focus should be on the remaining known core populations of Kit Foxes: Carrizo Plains, San Luis Obispo County; Natural Lands, Kern County; Ciervo-Panoche Natural Area, Fresno and San Benito Counties. It is in these areas that Kit Fox habitat is largely untouched, meaning permanent populations are most likely to be sustainable here.

Kit Fox Den
(via foxes-thrive-in-Bakersfield-169534646.html)

However, before a metapopulation of Kit Foxes can be established, research is needed to be conducted on the fox. A second primary goal that the USFWS presented was refined and modern research into Kit Fox populations. Though it has been recognized as endangered for half a century, relatively little is known about the San Joaquin Kit Fox. What information we do have on the fox is outdated and likely not representative of modern populations. By refining data on Kit Foxes, the USFWS claims that conservation biologists will be able to better predict how changes in habitat and prey populations effect migratory and predatory habits. Beside preservation of Kit Fox habitat, this research is the main recovery action being taken by conversationalists. This is because with this knowledge scientists will be able to more accurately and effectively prescribe actions needed to successfully save the Kit Fox.

What We Can Do To Help

Not a conservation biologist? No problem. There are many ways to help the San Joaquin Kit Fox in just your everyday practices:

Example of Non-Profit Support
(via http://wildlife.org/cali-centralcoast/workshops)

• Avoid the use rodenticides in areas known to be inhabited by Kit Foxes. The active ingredients in the poisons kill Kit Foxes just as effectively as they do rodents. 
• If you come across a Kit Fox den or a possible Kit Fox den, do not under any circumstance destroy it, as it may be home to a Kit Fox and her pups
• Do not feed Kit Foxes. Just like all wildlife, they are wild and should stay that way. Domestication of an animal in any way results in the dependence of the animal on humans. This ultimately leads to the animal forgetting its hunting practices and this weakens future generations.
• If you live in a Kit Fox habitat put away sports nets and other such items in which Kit Foxes and get entangled.

Additionally, there are numerous non-profit organizations working toward rescuing the Kit Fox, whose many victories have made their goal achievable. A major win for the San Joaquin Kit Fox is the recent law suit against Consolidated Edison Development, the major company backing the Panoche Valley Solar (PVS) Farm. The solar farm was to be built in the heart of Panoche Valley, potentially fragmenting one of the three remaining key areas of the Kit Fox's core population. The suit resulted in a settlement which not only gave conservationists 25,000 acres of protected land, but also saw the solar farm reduced to about half the size, further mitigating its impact on the area. Additionally, PVS is providing a migration corridor for the Kit Fox and has worked with numerous biologists in order to research and determine how to minimize the farm's impacts on the natural environment and the creatures, like the San Joaquin Kit Fox which live within it.

It is victories like this that give hope to the Kit Fox and species like it, and make non-profits who make commitments to endangered plants and animals worth supporting. Donating to non-profit organizations is a great way to support endangered species, but a dollar only goes so far. The best way to help the creatures you know and love is as simple as using your voice. Support local conservation efforts by commenting on their blogs or attending their events. Show opposition to companies and groups who undermine these efforts by emailing or writing letters to them. By using your voice, you illustrate that people care about the issues within the community. With a loud enough voice and unfeigned support, any goal is achievable.

Other Resources

Here are some other resources beyond this blog to help you familiarize yourself with the San Joaquin Kit Fox and support the efforts to save it:

Defender's Adopt a Kit Fox
(via http://www.defenders.org/sites/adopt-a-kit-fox)

• Defenders of Wildlife
• Center for Biological Diversity
• Panoche Valley Solar Farm (PVS)
• San Joaquin Kit Fox Recovery Program
• Adopt a Kit Fox

References

Delfino, Kim. “Fighting For the Future of Panoche Valley Wildlife.” Defenders of Wildlife Blog, Defenders of Wildlife, 4 Apr. 2016, www.defendersblog.org/2016/03/fighting-future-panoche-valley-wildlife/.

California, State of. “Threatened and Endangered Mammals.” Threatened and Endangered Mammals - California Department of Fish and Wildlife, www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/t_e_spp/mammals.html.

Roselund, Christian. “The Panoche Valley Solar Farm Gets Downsized.” PV Magazine USA, PV Magazine, 25 July 2017, pv-magazine-usa.com/2017/07/25/the-panoche-valley-solar-farm-gets-downsized/.

Anderson, Ileene. “.” San Joaquin Kit Fox, Center for Biological Diversity, www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/San_Joaquin_kit_fox/.

CSU Stanislaus. “Endangered Species Recovery Program.” Species Profile, CSU Stanislaus Dept. of Biological Sciences, esrp.csustan.edu/speciesprofiles/profile.php?sp=vuma.

PVS. “Conservation Overview.” Panoche Valley Solar Project, Panoche Valley Solar, LLC, 2017, www.panochevalleysolar.com/conservation-overview/.

Defenders of Wildlife. “Basic Facts about San Joaquin Kit Foxes.” Defenders of Wildlife, Defenders of Wildlife, 19 Sept. 2016, www.defenders.org/san-joaquin-kit-fox/basic-facts.