San Juan Island's Foxes and Rabbits
Two invasive species are a part of local ecological history
Text
Cute, fluffy, and a pest: European rabbits have become a nuisance on the island within the last 100 years. In 1900 several domestic rabbits were brought to the island by a lighthouse keeper in hopes of selling their meat to Seattle markets. After interest in the meat market waned, the rabbits were left unattended for several years before catching the attention of the U.S. Biological Survey.
By 1934 the rabbits numbered several thousand. The vast population of rabbits had started affecting the ground underneath houses because of their extensive burrows, and had even begun stripping vegetation on the island, which then led to erosion problems. The rabbits' also damaged the nesting grounds of some varieties of birds.
Though originally bred for food, this population of rabbits were found often too diseased for consumption. Poisoning became the common solution for the rabbit population and soon helped reduce the colony. Today, the San Juan rabbit populations numbers around 500 and is a common prey of the other 20th-century addition to San Juan Island, the red fox.
The red fox is a member of the canidae family, and one of the widest dispersed in North America. These foxes were reportedly introduced to San Juan Island to help curb the rabbit population. Though rabbits are part of the fox's diet, it is also omnivorous and enjoys berries, nuts, insects, other small rodents, and even snakes. These foxes can come in a multitude of colors besides red, including silver, black, and brown. The black coated fox is a common sight on San Juan Island, but this fur color is rarely seen away from the island due to a high level of mutation within this population of red foxes.
A problem facing the foxes is human interactions. Previously, tourists and locals fed the foxes which in turn helped them become accustomed to humans and led to the foxes relying on human-supplied food and trash. Though the island itself has no law prohibiting the feeding of foxes, it is a good idea to let the fox be and watch from a distance. In San Juan Island National Historic Park, visitors are encouraged to stay a minimum of 75 feet from these beautiful creatures.
