The last time there was a confirmed sighting of a Sierra red fox in California was twenty years ago. It had been so long some wondered if the subspecies had gone extinct. On August 11 a motion activated camera in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest photographed one of the very rare foxes. Scientists took DNA saliva samples the area, and after analyzing them confirmed it was indeed the rare animal.
Sierra red fox are not on the Endangered Species list. In California they are considered a sensitive species. One reason their numbers declined so much was trapping. According to the Sierra Forrest Legacy , from 1940 to 1959, 135 pelts were taken by trappers and that number shrunk down to 2 pelts a year by the 1970.
We ask that The Sierra red fox be listed as an Endangered Species, making it illegal to hunt, poision or trap this animal that has not been sighted for 20 years.
(Source: San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15992846?nclick_check=1
(Source: LA Times)
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/09/supposedly-extinct-red-fox-discovered-in-yosemite-national-park.html
David Hayes
Deputy Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks
Washington, D.C. Office
555 Eleventh Street, NW
Suite 1000
Washington DC 20004-1304
202.637.2204 Phone
202.637.2201 Fax
david.hayes@lw.com
