Cozumel Dwarf Fox: One of the World’s Rarest Canids Photographed for the First Time

Located off the Mexican Yucatán Peninsula, the island of Cozumel is home to numerous Maya ruins and a unique fauna. Long believed extinct, an elusive dwarf fox has recently been photographed there.

Pocket Fox

The very first photographs of this member of the genus Urocyon were credited to Rafael Chacón, director of the Cozumel Parks and Museums Foundation. On the morning of September 14, 2023, reports of a disoriented animal wandering along a road that runs along the island’s eastern coast began to flood in.

With his camera in hand, the man went into the area and photographed an adult male fox that was subsequently rescued. After several days of observation, the wild canid was released into a more suitable habitat.

Endemic to Cozumel, the dwarf fox is renowned for its extreme stealth. Until now, evidence of its existence was limited to a handful of sightings dating back to the early 2000s, and semi-fossilized remains found at various archaeological sites on the island.

A striking example of island dwarfism, it is 20 to 40% smaller than its closest continental relative, the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). Such a trajectory suggests that this pocket-sized canid, which is also thought to be on the brink of extinction, has lived there in isolation for at least five millennia.

A Unique and Threatened Fauna

Among the unique animals found on Cozumel are two other dwarf carnivorous mammals: the pygmy raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus) and the dwarf coati (Nasua nelsoni).

For the authors of the new study, published in the journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation, the recent rediscovery of the island’s dwarf fox underscores the importance of drastic conservation measures to ensure their persistence.

“Its rediscovery essentially amounts to a second chance,” says Travis Bayer of Pathos Wildlife. “Such work also helps deepen our understanding of Cozumel’s ecosystems.”

Earlier this year, an African lark was photographed for the first time by a French duo.