Rare red fox spotted on California mountain
A photographer released footage of an extremely rare and endangered red fox as it roamed around a mountain in the winter.
A photographer in Northern California “struck gold” when discovering footage of a rare fox in Lassen Volcanic National Park captured by his remote camera.
Wildlife photographer Randy Robbins shared three video clips on his social media featuring the “geographically isolated” and “highly threatened” Sierra Nevada red fox, which his remote camera captured.
Watch extremely rare footage of Sierra Nevada red fox
Video footage shared by Robbins shows two different foxes with grey and white fur, with one wearing a tracking collar while wandering around the rocks during the day and trotting into the night. Robbins assumes the animals were probably just “sniffing for rodents.”
“Daytime footage like this is pretty darn rare,” Robbins noted.
Foxes on ‘edge of extinction’
“One of the rarest mammals in the world,” according to the Yosemite Conservancy, only about 18 to 39 individuals remain in the wild, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The federal agency goes on to explain that these critically endangered species, with their thick and fuzzy fur coats, are typically found in higher elevations and are “believed to be on the edge of extinction.”
Footage captured in a hard-to-access area
While the camera captured the foxes sometime between late November and early December in 2024, Robbins did not get his hands on the incredible footage until recently. Robbins mentioned that he set up his camera, with permission, at an elevation of 8,500 feet in Lassen Volcanic National Park, which is known to be one of the snowiest places in the United States.
“The main road through the park closes in the late fall and usually doesn’t open until late May or early June,” Robbins said. “In this case, this was a camera that I set up in the fall and just retrieved a couple weeks ago. It was a 5-mile hike to retrieve the camera, and there was still huge amounts of snow to deal with.”
“The park road was still not open when I retrieved the camera,” he added.
Robbins has been pursuing wildlife photos for years
Robbins, a part-time worship pastor at a local church in California and the owner of a photography gallery called A Thousand Windows in Susanville, has been focusing on wildlife photography since 2018, though he has been taking photos for much longer.
The photographer revealed that his passion for capturing these elusive creatures on film was sparked when he took a photo of one of the few wild gray wolves during the early stages of their reintroduction in California.
“The difficulty and eventual success of photographing such a rare species sent me looking for other potential difficult subjects,” Robbins said, explaining he uses “DSLR camera traps with infrared triggers to capture photographs,” and trail cameras to shoot video “to scout for potential locations and animal behavior.”
While Robbins was initially attracted to “the challenge of capturing an image of such a rare animal,” but over the next three years, he says he has become “very attached to them.”
“I see pursuing images of them as a way that I can help advocate for their conservation and recovery,” Robbins said. “This journey has put me in contact with many of the biologists and scientists doing the hard work of conservation of the species, and I am honored to have a small seat at that table.”
‘Still want my photo’
However, his reaction to the footage was mixed, Robbins said. Though he was delighted to have captured these foxes up close, the photographer in him wished to get a “high-resolution portrait photograph.”
“Seeing this video footage was hugely satisfying in terms of getting footage of the animal, and I couldn’t ask for any better video footage than this, but for me, the quest is not over,” Robbins said, adding, “I still want my photo.”
Sierra Nevada red fox facts
Smaller than most other fox species, the Sierra Nevada red fox has fuzzy paws and is covered by a thick fur coat, which helps it survive the heavy winter snows and challenging alpine conditions where it lives. Despite its name, Sierra Nevada red foxes can be either mostly red, mostly black, or a grayish brown cross phase, according to the USFWS.
Animal sightings have been reported in Alpine, Fresno, Inyo, Madera, Mono and Tuolumne counties, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Their species is mainly threatened by “wildfire and drought, competition with coyotes, decreases in prey numbers and widespread hybridization with non-native foxes,” the agency says.
Robbins hopes his efforts will bring more attention to the species and their rehabilitation.
“It has been really encouraging to see the response from people,” Robbins said. “Everyone wants to see these foxes bounce back from the brink of extinction, and being able to provide this look at one in this amazing environment in Lassen Volcanic National Park has been an honor.”
“It has shown me that people are really interested and concerned, and do want to help and protect our natural world,” he added.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
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