Tlie semidomesticated blue fox, 

 allowed to roam free on small 

 islands devoted to the industry, pre- 

 sented a unique problem with re- 

 spect to the bald ea^jle. Such ani- 

 mals received only food and, at 

 most, n o m i n a 1 care and were 

 trapped every 2 or 3 years. Because 

 of the concentrated population, vul- 

 nerability to eagle attack was prob- 

 ably greater than that which would 

 be experienced by a normal popula- 

 tion of completely wild foxes. Such 

 conditions were encountered by 

 O. J. Murie and his associates on 

 the Aleutians in IDoC) and 1937, yet 

 the remains of only a single fox pup 

 M^as found among the bald eagle 

 nest material collected there. 

 Murie's comments were, as follows: 



On Amchitka Island, within 200 yards 

 of an eagle's nest containing no fox re- 

 mains, a family of young foxes was living 

 unmolested. There was another fox fam- 

 ily at a somewhat greater distance in the 

 opposite direction. Foxes were seen on 

 the beach within easy reach of eagles on 

 Kavalga Island. Many such instances 

 could be cited. * * * At any rate, the 

 evidence shows that eagles are not a 

 serious menace to the blue foxes in the 

 Aleutian Islands. An excellent fur crop 

 is generally harvested on islands with 

 suitable productive beaches. 



INIurie also pointed out that on 

 islands where both foxes and eagles 

 originally subsisted largely on sea 

 birds that later were drastically re- 

 duced in numbers, the foxes may 

 have become a more important item 

 of eagle food. 



Despite the adverse opinion of the 

 bald eagle encountered in the course 

 of field studies in Southeastern 

 Alaska in 1941, no first-hand evi- 

 dence of eagles feeding on foxes 

 was found. Eagles were collected 



in localities where they had an op- 

 portunity to prey on blue foxes yet 

 in none of the 435 stomachs exam- 

 ined was the remains of a blue fox 

 found. Thus, the senior author was 

 convinced that under the conditions 

 then prevailing depredations on 

 blue foxes were not severe enough to 

 warrant a bounty or other concerted 

 effort to reduce the numbers of bald 

 eagles in fox-farming areas. 



Since the time of that field ap- 

 praisal (in 1941) a marked change 

 has taken place in the blue-fox in- 

 dustr}^ which has had a bearing on 

 the relation of the bald eagle to the 

 industry. Prices paid for long- 

 haired furs had so decreased by the 

 early 1950's that most of the blue- 

 fox farmers of Southeastern Alaska 

 had gone out of business. Further- 

 more, James R. Leekley, biologist 

 in charge of the experimental fur 

 station of the U. S. Bureau of Ani- 

 mal Industry at Petersburg, Alaska, 

 is of the opinion that — 



even though fox prices were to come 

 back, blue foxes would probably never be 

 raised on a free running island manage- 

 ment plan again. Research at the station 

 and actual practice by several of the more 

 progressive island ranchers has shown 

 conclusively that pen raising is much 

 more practical and profitable. It is 

 doubtful whether complaints against the 

 bald eagle will again be received from 

 blue fox farmers. 



This statement is based on condi- 

 tions prevailing in Southeastern 

 Alaska and may not apply to pos- 

 sible future operations on larger 

 islands in the Aleutians. 



Under prevailing regulations, ac- 

 tion may be taken against the bald 

 eagle wherever it threatens damage 

 to domestic or wild animals. Thus, 



39 



