<Li> Tibetan sand fox </Li> <P> Several fox species are endangered in their native environments . Pressures placed on foxes include habitat loss and being hunted for pelts, other trade, or control . Due in part to their opportunistic hunting style and industriousness, foxes are commonly resented as nuisance animals . On the other hand, foxes, while often considered pests themselves, have been successfully employed to control pests on fruit farms while leaving the fruit intact . </P> <P> The island fox, though considered a near - threatened species throughout the world, is becoming increasingly endangered in its endemic environment of the California Channel Islands . A population on an island is smaller than those on the mainland because of limited resources like space, food and shelter . Island populations, therefore, are highly susceptible to external threats ranging from introduced predatory species and humans to extreme weather . On the California Channel Islands, it was found that the population of the island fox was so low due to an outbreak of canine distemper virus from 1999 to 2000 as well as predation by non-native golden eagles . Since 1993, the eagles have caused the population to decline by as much as 95% . Because of the low number of foxes, the population went through an Allee effect; this is where at low enough densities, an individual's fitness decreases . Conservationists, therefore, had to take healthy breeding pairs out of the wild population to breed them in captivity until they had enough foxes to release back into the wild . Nonnative grazers were also removed so that native plants would be able to grow back to their natural height, thereby providing adequate cover and protection for the foxes against golden eagles . </P> <P> Darwin's fox is considered critically endangered because of their small known population of 250 mature individuals as well as their restricted distribution . On the Chilean mainland, the population is limited to Nahuelbuta National Park and the surrounding Valdivian rainforest . Similarly on Chiloé Island, their population is limited to the forests that extend from the southernmost to the northwestern most part of the island . Though the Nahuelbuta National Park is protected, 90% of the species live on Chiloé Island . A major problem the species faces, therefore, is their dwindling, limited habitat due to the cutting and burning of the unprotected forests . Because of deforestation, the Darwin's fox habitat is shrinking, allowing for their competitor's (chilla fox) preferred habitat of open space, to increase; the Darwin's fox, subsequently, is being outcompeted . Another problem they face is their inability to fight off diseases transmitted by the increasing number of pet dogs . To conserve these animals, researchers suggest the need for the forests that link the Nahuelbuta National Park to the coast of Chile and in turn Chiloé Island and its forests, to be protected . They also suggest that other forests around Chile be examined to determine whether Darwin's foxes have previously existed there or can live there in the future, should the need to reintroduce the species to those areas arise . And finally, the researchers advise for the creation of a captive breeding program, in Chile, because of the limited number of mature individuals in the wild . </P>

Is a fox a dog or a car