CANID.^ 223 



Santa Barbara Islands, and on some they were abundant. They 

 seem to Idc subject to an epidemic of some kind. In 1886 I found 

 them abundant on Santa CataHna Island. In 1893 I spent nearly 

 a month at the same place and saw none and was told by residents 

 that they were rare but appeared to be increasing. In 1886 I saw 

 two and three together several times. They were not shy and 

 moved about in the daytime to some extent. Several times I heard 

 a bark in the night that sounded much like that of the gray fox 

 of the mainland. Those foxes that I skinned had many cactus 

 thorns in their skin and flesh. The flat leaved cactuses (Opuntia) 

 are very abundant on the island and of necessity the Foxes get 

 pricked in pursuing squirrels and birds in the cactus thickets, to 

 which these resort for protection. The Foxes patrol the beaches 

 to pick up any fish that may wash ashore. I saw no burrows and 

 suppose that the Foxes spend the day in the dense thickets of 

 brush on the hillsides. 



