by Francesca Varela
In the meadows surrounding Crater Lake, there lives a small, graceful creature with orange-red fur, a lush tail, and a long snout. Its scientific name is undeniably catchy: Vulpes vulpes. This creature, more commonly known as the red fox, is often seen by visitors throughout the park. And, undeniably, Crater Lake’s visitors are more often seen through the eyes of the foxes.
Foxes are actually a lot like humans. They’re monogamous; both parents help tend to their young; they live in house-like dens burrowed into hillsides; their omnivorous diet is comprised of berries and small prey—obviously this similarity doesn’t apply if you’re a vegetarian, or if you’re not fond of eating insects or rodents—but you get the idea. Foxes are charismatic because they’re both mysterious and completely understandable. They’re both the known and the unknown. At times they’re astoundingly social, coming up to humans in a manner reminiscent of their canine cousin the dog, while, other times, they slink past us like ghosts, barely seen.
Not much is known about the status of the red fox in Oregon. There are an estimated 40 individual red foxes living within the borders of Crater Lake National Park. Although it’s a National Park, Crater Lake and the surrounding backcountry are not protected as designated Wilderness. That means, until it’s protected, the National Park is likely to face a myriad of human development proposals such as gondola rides and helicopter tours. Outside the National Park, but within the Crater Lake ecosystem, these wildlands lack protection against mining, logging, and other forms of destruction. The red fox subspecies native to Oregon (Vulpes vulpes cascadensis, to be more specific) lives only in places like Crater Lake, located high in the Cascade Mountains. Keeping their habitat intact is crucial to their survival. Find out more about how Wilderness designation can help Vulpes vulpes, and all the other wild creatures living around Crater Lake: http://oregonwild.org/wilderness/crater-lake-wilderness-proposal.
Sources:
-Moskowitz, D. (2010). Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest: Tracking and identifying mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. Portland, Or.: Timber Press.
-Foxes of Crater Lake National Park. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2015, from http://www.craterlakeinstitute.com/natural-history/mammals-fox.htm
