Fantastic Mr.
Fox may have been a work of fiction, but as you can see from these
pictures, this man from County Kilkenny, Ireland is most definitely the
real thing.
The man is Patsy Gibbons and his two
adorable sidekicks are Grainne and Minnie. Gibbons nursed the foxes back
to health after they were found abandoned as pups, and although the
animals made a full recovery and could have returned to the wild, it
seems that they decided to adopt their rescuer instead! Somewhat
unsurprisingly, the three of them receive a lot of attention from local
children, so much so that schools have invited Grainne and Minnie to
come along so students can see them up close.
“I now have people from all over the
country and indeed the UK asking me for advice on looking after foxes,”
Gibbons told The Irish Examiner. “I’m no expert and I’m still learning
from them day-by-day (but) I’m happy to advise as a lay person.” (h/t: designyoutrust, irishexaminer)
In comparison to their relatives on the mainland,
the Channel Island foxes living on six of California's Channel Islands
are dwarves, at two-thirds the size. The island foxes most likely
evolved from gray foxes brought to the northern islands by humans over
7,000 years ago. Some think island foxes may have been partially
domesticated by Native-Americans. Like many island species, they have
little fear of humans.
This is a photo of a Channel Island fox. Credit: Dr. Gary Roemer
In comparison to their relatives on the
mainland, the Channel Island foxes living on six of California's
Channel Islands are dwarves, at two-thirds the size. The island foxes
most likely evolved from gray foxes brought to the northern islands by
humans over 7,000 years ago. Some think island foxes may have been
partially domesticated by Native Americans. Like many island species,
they have little fear of humans.
Now a new study reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology
on April 21 finds that the foxes also show a surprising absence of
genetic variation. The study offers the first complete genome sequences
of an island species that is a model for long-term conservation of
small, endangered populations, the researchers say.
"We find a dramatic reduction of genetic variation, far lower than
most other animal species," says Jacqueline Robinson of the University
of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
One population in particular living on San Nicolas Island has an
order of magnitude lower variation than any other known species,
including the severely endangered African cheetah, Mountain gorilla, and
Tasmanian devil, she says. Such near absence of genetic variation
doesn't bode well for the foxes. But it also presents a puzzle as to how
the foxes have managed as well as they have.
"The degree to which the San Nicolas foxes have lost genetic
variation is remarkable, upholding a previous observation that they may
be the least genetically variable population of wild animals known,"
says Robert Wayne, also of UCLA. "It suggests that under some
conditions, genetic variation is not absolutely essential for the
persistence of endangered populations."
The researchers sequenced DNA samples representing each of the
Channel Island fox populations and one mainland gray fox from southern
California. Researchers originally collected the island fox samples back
in 1988, prior to subsequent population declines due to predation and
disease in four of the island populations.
Theory holds that small populations will not only lose variation, but
will also accumulate deleterious variation as the normal process of
natural selection fails. Indeed, the complete genomes of the island
foxes show dramatic, 3- to 84-fold declines in heterozygosity.
(Heterozygosity refers to places in the genome where an individual has
inherited different variants of the same gene from their mother and
father.) The foxes also show sharp increases in genes for which they
carried two copies of a variant deemed to be harmful or deleterious in
some way.
The San Nicolas Island population of foxes has a near absence of
variation, the researchers report, demonstrating a unique "genetic
flatlining." The only variation found in those foxes occurs at
"heterozygosity hotspots," enriched for olfactory receptor genes and
other genes with high levels of ancestral variation.
The researchers say the new findings need to be taken into careful
consideration in plans for the foxes' future, including the removal of
their federal endangered species protection status.
"The island fox populations suffer from both a lack of genetic
diversity and the accumulation of damaging genetic variants, which is
likely to worsen over time," Wayne says. Island foxes are also
susceptible to population crashes from disease and non-native predators,
such as golden eagles.
Additional research is needed to understand how the foxes may
compensate for their decreased variation and the accumulation of
deleterious variants. Wayne and Robinson say they'd like to explore gene
expression and regulation in the foxes, to find out whether these
factors may act to alleviate some of the effects of deleterious
variants.
Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Cell Press. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
Robinson et al. Genomic Flatlining in the Endangered Island Fox. Current Biology, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.02.062
If it weren't for her bushy tail and distinctly fox-colored fur, Vixey could pass for a dog.
Footage of Vixey, a fox rescued from the fur trade in the Czech Republic, shows that sometimes foxes are closer to their dog cousins than we may think.
In a matter of seconds, she runs in the room, climbs on top of the bunk bed and ducks out, all without pausing for an instant.
Facebook/HypeDojoOnce she gets settled in bed, she plays hide-and-go-seek … by herself.
As
a fox living with humans, Vixey's caught between two worlds — part
tame, part wild. While nature is certainly the best place for a wild
animal, Vixey's never known what that's like. She was born into a
factory that breeds foxes for the fashion industry, from which she was
eventually rescued.
YouTube user Najlvin originally uploaded videos of Vixey back in 2010, but footage of the energetic fox has recently resurfaced online.
The videos may be dated, but they still serve as a reminder that there's a better life out there for the millions of animals who are born into fur farms around the world. With foxes being the second most commonly farmed animal, Vixey was one of the lucky ones to escape the industry.
While
it's unusual to see a tame fox, Vixey is hardly the first one to behave
more like a dog than her wild counterpart. Just last week, a white fox born into captivity made her first real friend, who also happened to be a dog.
Watch two of videos of Vixey below.
Happy Rescued Fox Loves to Play!
Meet Vixey the fox! Vixey is a sweet Czech fox that was rescued from a fur farm. She looks so happy now! <3What an adorable ball of energy! :DSee more of Vixey at her personal website Vixey.cz.
Posted by HypeDojo on Monday, March 28, 2016
