8 minute lesson
Conservation Success! How Out of the Box Thinking Saved an Adorable Fox
What do World War II, eagles, and pigs have to do with the disappearance of a fox off the coast of California?
On California’s Channel Islands, a species of tiny, docile foxes, called Island Foxes live their lives hunting mice and insects. They are unique to these islands and have called them home for thousands of years until a few decades ago when they nearly went extinct.
With their numbers dwindling dangerously, biologists and scientists intervened. First, they had to figure out why the foxes were disappearing! And the answer wasn’t as straightforward as most people would believe.
So, how did they manage to do it? Well, here’s the story of conservation success from the amazing YouTube Channel Skunk Bear!
Why It Matters
When we think about the biggest problems we face in conservation today, it’s important we look at the complex networks that these issues are connected to.
These major problems are not the fault or success of one intervention, they require that we appreciate their complexity. To make a systemic change we have to look at the chain of events, even the seemingly minor connections, to understand where best to put our efforts. This requires the work of people with lots of different and diverse backgrounds.
If we want to make a change for the species facing extinction, it takes a community of knowledgable people each with their own areas of expertise coming together over a common goal.
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Skunk Bear
Skunk Bear is NPR’s science youtube channel, exploring the secrets of the universe, the wonders of nature, and answering your science questions.