After 100 years, the rare red fox is

seen in Yosemite
By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.02.15
Word Count 438

An extremely rare and "extremely cute" Sierra Nevada red fox has been spotted in Yosemite National Park
for the rst time in a century. Photo: Yosemite National Park

A Sierra Nevada red fox was just spotted in Yosemite National Park. This is the
rst time the rare animal has been seen there in almost 100 years.
The red fox is one of the most endangered animals in the country. There are less
than 50 of them in North America. It is against the law to hunt or trap it.
Video cameras took pictures of the fox in December and January. Park ofcials
are trying to gure out whether the pictures show the same fox or different ones.
The chance of running into them is very unusual, said Kari Cobb. She is a
spokeswoman for Yosemite. The national park is in California.

Smile For The Camera

The last time a red fox was seen at Yosemite was in 1915, Cobb said.
The foxes are shy and avoid humans. They live high in the mountains at 6,000
feet. The foxes are reddish-orange colored and burrow in soil and logs.

The Sierra Nevada red fox is rarely seen. Little is known about them.
In 1990, videos of the red fox were taken in the Lassen National Forest. The
forest is north of Yosemite.
Wildlife scientists wanted to take pictures of the fox again. They placed cameras
at the Tioga Pass, just east of Yosemite. A fox had been seen at that spot years
earlier. A pass is the highest point of a mountain road.
Then, in August 2010, a red fox was nally photographed again. It was seen at
the Sonora Pass, north of Yosemite. A video camera recorded a fox biting on a
bag. The bag contained chicken scraps.
After the fox left, scientists checked the bag. They found samples of saliva. They
studied the spit and determined that it came from a Sierra Nevada red fox.

Fox On The Run

Two years ago, Cobb and her husband spotted a Sierra Nevada red fox. They
saw it at the Sonora Pass.
They are extremely cute little animals, Cobb said.
Scientists will continue using cameras to look for the rare red fox. Hair snare
stations have been set up near cameras. Hair snares are traps that catch animal
hair. The scientists are hoping to nd red fox hair to study. The fox hair would
give them more information about the animals. It would also help the scientists
gure out if the Yosemite fox is related to the fox seen at the Sonora Pass.
The fox sighting in Yosemite is a good sign, Cobb said.
Yosemite is huge and there are many wild areas. It could give the red fox
protected space, she said, so it can make a comeback.