Scientists catch 2 rare Sierra red foxes
By Jane Braxton Little, Sacramento Bee
State wildlife biologists researching the rare Sierra Nevada red fox have been trying to capture one for over a decade. On Tuesday, they caught the second one in three weeks.
A nearly nine-pound female walked into a box trap near Manzanita Lake in Lassen Volcanic National Park. She joins a 10-pound male, captured February 13 on national forest land near Mineral just outside the park boundary. Both animals were released after biologists took blood samples, conducted routine field examinations and equipped them with collars for remote tracking.
Scientists have been trying to better understand the Sierra Nevada red fox since 1980, when it was listed as threatened in California.
