Photo: Getty Images
California residents under the age of 100 have likely never seen a Sierra Nevada red fox in their lifetime, until now. According to SF Gate, the endangered animal was spotted by cameras set up by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife near Sequoia and Kings Canyons. A similar fox was allegedly seen near Taboose Pass from April 20th to June 4th four times last year. SF Gate mentioned that these findings are extremely beneficial to those whose life's work encompasses the population of the species.
“When a species is listed as endangered, the most common scenario we see is that it doesn’t recover,” California Department of Fish and Wildlife scientist Julia Lawson shared with SF Gate. “It’s really hard to recover an endangered species when you know so little about them. Knowing where they occur and what habitats are important to them will help us design strategies to protect them.”
Photo: California Department of Fish and Wildlife
The cameras work to draw the animals to the specific section of the trail using scent. When the animal gets close to the camera, a photograph is taken that allows researchers to closely identify the species. SF Gate mentioned that these cameras are able to detect coyotes, bobcats, black bears, weasels, and more.