Island Fox & TH Chick, Has this happened before?

[summer818]

Hi Peter, my heart is broken over the loss of the second chick on the TH nest. Has a chick ever been taken by an island fox?

[jeannec]

Also, since it's apparent the TH nest is on a regular tour of at least one Island Fox, and I would guess the researchers are familiar with what fox(es) might be in that area - would there be any consideration to relocate any foxes that are currently near the nest?

[summer818]

Also, is there a possibility to put fox proof fencing around the base of the nest? If these foxes know there are easy pickings on the nest, they could make this their yearly meal. I hope there is something that can be done to protect the chicks in the future.

[jhm]

Has anyone from IWS gone to the TH nest area just to observe if the parents may have found their chick and are feeding it? I know it would be a miracle but sometimes they happen.

[vickih]

Here are a few things I was wondering about Dr. Sharpe

At the age of this chick would it have been unusual for the parents to leave the chick, unless they were under attack -- or, do they start leaving the chick for periods of time at this age. Also, I would imagine next season the parents would wait until any chick/s would be older before leaving them for extended periods of time.

If the parents had seen the chick being carried off with the island fox, what action might they have taken. Would they attack the island fox to get the chick back?

Vickih

P.S. JHM -- that is also something I was wondering. There was some mention on facebook that could be a possibility.

[jhm]

Dr. Sharpe - do you have any speculations on why the mother left the nest for over 30 hours? I've never seen this behavior before.

[Eagle Guy]

I'm sure that a fox has taken a chick sometime over the centuries they coexisted, but we have not seen it. Then again, we have only had night vision for a few years.

Only a small portion of the island fox are radio-collared and they are not tracked except to see if there are mortality signals. The nest is a long way from a road, where they usually trap, so it is unlikely foxes around the nest are collared.

A fox proof fence would have to be a solid metal barrier about 6 feet high so that they couldn't climb or jump over it, so that is not feasible. Finding something to eat once a year at a certain location is not likely to make it a regular stop for the foxes.

Our closest observation point of the nest area without disturbing the adults is about 1/2 mile away and we haven't gone to observe the adults. If the fox dragged the chick out of the nest it wouldn't just drop it and leave, especially because the chick would have no defenses at that age. Those foxes are surprisingly vicious for such a small fox.

It was normal for the adults to leave chicks of that age alone during the day, but most of the time an adult would be perched in the nearby tree. I'd be willing to bet the male was perched in the tree Thursday night. If he would have seen/heard the fox he would have come to the chick's defense.

I don't know where K82 went or whether she was missing. She could have been perched somewhere out of camera view. If she was out of sight of the nest it is unlikely that their future behavior will change because as far as she knows the male was on the nest.