Updated Feb 2022: THE ADVENTURE DISPATCH
Undeveloped and separated from the mainland by 25 miles of ocean water. Santa Cruz is home to plants & animals found nowhere else on earth such as the island Jay bird.
Because of it’s separation from the mainland Santa Cruz has been isolated and untouched giving us the opportunity to see what southern California once looked like.
The islands were formed around five million years ago through a fault line that runs through the center of the island. The compressional forces are still active today lifting the island upwards.
The largest mammal on the island is the very small, island fox. They are merely the size of a house cat. Over time these foxes evolved to dwarf size to better suit island life.
To save the 60 unique species from extinction the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy started a restoration program preserving the majority of the island.
FOXES, NATIVE PLANTS, AND BALD EAGLES THRIVE ON THE ISLAND
HUMANS INTRODUCE SHEEP & CATTLE
BALD EAGLES DISAPPEAR FROM THE ISLAND DUE TO HUNTING & PESTICIDES
GOLDEN EAGLES MAKE THE ISLAND THEIR HOME HUNTING ISLAND FOX
FOX POPULATION DROPX 95%
9 PLANTS ARE LISTED AS ENDANGERED OR THREATENED
SHEEP ARE REMOVED FROM ISLAND AND RELOCATION OF GOLDEN EAGLES BEGINS
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND FOX BREEDING PROGRAM BEGINS
BALD EAGLES ARE RE-ESTABLISHED
ISLAND FOX LISTED AS ENDANGERED SPECIES
GOLDEN EAGLES ARE SIGNIFICANTY REDUCED ALLOWING ISLAND FOX TO THRIVE
FOXES, PLANTS, AND BALD EAGLES ARE THRIVING
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