Desert Kit Fox

Desert kit fox | Photo: California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Chris Clarke has reported that for a second year there have been no signs of the distemper virus in the desert kit foxes tested by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is quite good news.

In 2011, at least eleven foxes died during an outbreak on the site of the Genesis solar project in Riverside County, CA. It was the first time distemper had been reported in desert kit foxes and the source of the outbreak is still unknown. The virus seemed to progress quite rapidly in the foxes leading to worries that they might die off before they had even been counted.