5,036 pigs removed from Santa Cruz Island, foxes rebounded from 70 to 2,100

 The successful eradication of feral pigs from Santa Cruz Island, initiated in 2005 and completed by 2006, played a pivotal role in the recovery of the island fox. Once teetering on the brink of extinction, the island fox population rebounded dramatically. In 2016, federal authorities celebrated the milestone of removing three island fox subspecies from the endangered list, marking the fastest recovery of any mammal under the Endangered Species Act. The successful eradication of feral pigs from Santa Cruz Island, initiated in 2005 and completed by 2006, played a pivotal role in the recovery of the island fox. Once teetering on the brink of extinction, the island fox population rebounded dramatically. In 2016, federal authorities celebrated the milestone of removing three island fox subspecies from the endangered list, marking the fastest recovery of any mammal under the Endangered Species Act.