Skunk Bear

Pocket-sized science facts from NPR, wrangled by @cadamole and @ryanjamescliff

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

@mbelotti99 @cadamole @PurplePasserine @KevinCFraser @PMCAErie Great! We’ll get on that!

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

@ArliaFrizzle Yep - all the videos will be there as long as YouTube exists

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

Hi science friends! After almost four years sharing stories of curiosity, @NPRSkunkBear is coming to an end. Thanks for joining us - your comments, questions and messages meant so much - they made this project a joy!

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

It's been a blast!

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

You can follow Skunk Bear's wranglers @cadamole and @ryanjamescliff - and of course keep your eyes and ears open for more fascinating content from @NPRScience!

[Florida Museum @FloridaMuseum]

What do pigs, mosquitoes, and golden eagles have to do with restoring the population of endangered island foxes? @NPRskunkbear looks at the big picture in the Channel Islands off the coast of California.
https://t.co/QDZW19Gu7i

[The Nature Conservancy @nature_org]

Happy to have been featured in this piece by @NPRskunkbear. Just the kind of feel-good conservation story to start off our #SundayMorning. 🦊

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

Learn more about the foxes (and their crazy road from the brink of extinction to recovery) in our latest episode: https://t.co/oPkr4YXCCg

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

Island foxes (like this little guy) are all descended from just a few individuals who first colonized their islands (what biologists call a population bottleneck). So - they have EXTREMELY low genetic diversity.

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

So they're perfectly happy running around a little island with a bunch of foxes that are more or less identical twins!

[Renee Montagne @nprmontagne]

I think this little fox is my calico cat's cousin. Watching how it has been saved from extinction will make you day. Truly. @NPR

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

How to save the 🦊?

💸💸💸,🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️💪,🕓, @CHISNPS, @nature_org

1⃣ eradicate 🐖🐖🐖
2⃣ chase down golden eagles in a 🚁, catch with a 🥅
3⃣ relocate goldens to other side of 🏔️🏔️🏔️
4⃣ raise new🥚🐣🦅
5⃣ restore native 🌿
6⃣ 🦊❤️🦊-->🍼🦊

🦊📈!

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

A Series Of Unfortunate Events:
🇨🇭🇺🇸🇬🇧 use DDT(🥃) to stop malaria🦟 in WWII
🥃pollutes 🌊->🐟->🦅->☠️🥚!
On the Channel Islands, golden eagles replace 🦅,
attracted by feral 🐖🐖🐖 that 👨‍🌾 brought in 1853
The golden's side dish: a rare ��
🦊 population 📉
https://t.co/oPkr4YXCCg

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

A Series Of Unfortunate Events:
🇨🇭🇺🇸🇬🇧 use DDT(🥃) to stop malaria🦟 in WWII
🥃pollutes 🌊->🐟->🦅->☠️🥚!
On the Channel Islands, golden eagles replace 🦅,
attracted by feral 🐖🐖🐖 that 👨‍🌾 brought in 1853
The golden's side dish: a rare 🦊
🦊 population 📉
https://t.co/oPkr4YXCCg

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

The adorable island fox is only found on an island chain off CA. There's a theory that they filled a cat-like role for the native Chumash people - begging for scraps around camp and keeping mice away.

Learn about the fight to save this species: https://t.co/oPkr4YXCCg

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

When the world’s population of Channel Island foxes plummeted to near extinction in the ‘90s no one knew why. Bringing them back meant unraveling a mystery that started with WWII (NEW EPISODE: https://t.co/oPkr4YXCCg )

[Skunk Bear @NPRskunkbear]

Here's the story of a true comeback kit! It jumped off the endangered species list just 12 years after it... https://t.co/xVQSurVlzH