Island fox
Urocyon littoralis (Baird, 1858)
The island fox (Urocyon littoralis) is a living mammal of the family Canidae in the order Carnivora, also called the Island gray fox or Channel Islands fox. It is a medium-sized, nocturnal and terrestrial animal with an adult body mass of 1.9 kg; its diet category is listed as herbivore and its trophic level as omnivore.
Quick facts about the island fox
The island fox is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 1.9 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 9.24 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 10.5 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 52.7 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.39src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.05src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the island fox
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the island fox live?
Not recorded
What is the island fox?
The island fox (Urocyon littoralis) is a small fox species that is endemic to six of the eight Channel Islands of California. They evolved from their larger mainland gray fox ancestor (U. cinereoargenteus) and have diversified into six subspecies, each confined to its own island and all exhibiting insular dwarfism. Island foxes are generally docile, show little fear of humans, and are easily tamed. Island foxes have played an important role in the spiritual lives of native Channel Islanders. They were likely semi-domesticated as pets, for their pelts, or other functions, like pest control. Genetic and archaeological evidence suggests that the foxes arrived on the islands around 7,000 years ago, probably with the assistance of early human populations.
From the Wikipedia article “Island fox” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Island_fox&oldid=1373720903), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the island fox endangered?
The island fox is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the island fox classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyCanidae
- genusUrocyon
- SpeciesUrocyon littoralis (Baird, 1858)
Synonyms Vulpes littoralis
Other names and names in other languages (31)
- California channel island foxEnglish
- Channel Islands foxEnglish
- Channel Islands gray foxEnglish
- Island gray foxEnglish
- Island grey foxEnglish
- Eiland-GrysvosAfrikaans
- ثعلب الجزيرةArabic
- ثعلب الجزيرة الرماديArabic
- Guineu grisa de les illes Santa BàrbaraCatalan
- liška ostrovníCzech
- InselgraufuchsGerman
- Αλεπού των νησιών ΤσάνελGreek
- Zorro isleñoSpanish
- Zorro gris de las islasSpanish
- kaliforniankettuFinnish
- Renard Gris InsulaireFrench
- szigeti szürkerókaHungarian
- Urocione delle Channel IslandsItalian
- シマハイイロギツネJapanese
- 섬여우Korean
- ØygrårevNorwegian Bokmål
- Grå ØyrevNorwegian Bokmål
- ØytrerevNorwegian Bokmål
- EilandvosDutch
- Lis wyspowyPolish
- urocjon wyspowyPolish
- Raposa-das-ilhasPortuguese
- Островная лисицаRussian
- ada boz tilkisiTurkish
- Лисиця острівнаUkrainian
- 島嶼灰狐Chinese
Relatives of the island fox
Other species in the same genus Urocyon.
Gray fox
Urocyon cinereoargenteus
CompareIsland fox vs Gray fox
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the island fox?
The island fox is a mammal in the family Canidae, order Carnivora, suborder Caniformia.
How heavy is the island fox?
An adult Island fox weighs 1.9 kg, with a highest reported value of 1.907 kg. It falls in the medium size class.
What does the island fox eat?
Its diet category is listed as herbivore, while its trophic level is given as omnivore.
Is the island fox endangered?
No. The island fox is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the island fox live?
The island fox has a lifespan of 9.2 years, with a highest reported value of 10.5 years.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Island fox (Urocyon littoralis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/island-fox
“Island fox (Urocyon littoralis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/island-fox.
@misc{island_fox_2026,
title = {Island fox (Urocyon littoralis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/island-fox},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}