Mojave Desert foxes facing distemper epidemic; virus spread from solar plant construction site

Wildlife biologists say an outbreak of canine distemper has spread beyond its origins and could take a heavy toll on kit foxes in the Mojave Desert, reports Louis Sahagun of the Los Angeles Times. The virus was first discovered in October during construction of the Genesis Solar Energy Project about 25 miles west of Blythe, Calif. in the Mojave Desert. (Times photo)

Since then, distemper has been found in kit foxes 11 miles south of the project, and though California Department of Fish and Game biologist Deana Clifford says that isn't far in the Mojave, it's enough to show efforts to stop the spread didn't work. There's a large population of desert foxes in the region, and experts fear a worst-case scenario would be an epidemic similar to one that almost wiped out the island fox population on Santa Catalina Island in 1999. Clifford said she's hopeful some foxes will develop an immunity.

Tracking the disease isn't easy. Radio collars have been put on nine foxes that indicate whether or not the fox has moved in six hours, signaling death. Twenty-nine foxes have been given a vaccine for canine distemper. But Sahagun reports California doesn't have the resources to track the whole desert. Biologists know the virus spread from the Genesis Project, but aren't yet certain of the host animal. State veterinarians think kit foxes close to the project were more susceptible to the virus because of hazing techniques used to force them from the construction site. (Read more)