Tuesday March 15, 2005
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AVALON, CATALINA ISLAND - One of the stars of the 10th Annual Catalina Island Conservancy Ball will not be sporting a fashionable gown of dancing shoes. She is Ne Shun Tachi - Tachi for short, whose full name in the language of the early Tongva inhabitants of Catalina Island means "Little Girl of Hope," is the Catalina Island Fox who symbolizes efforts to save her species from extinction.
Guests attending The Ball on April 2, "Emeralds in Avalon," sponsored by the Corsair Yacht Club, will have the opportunity to meet the little brown and white animal ambassador in the registration area at the Ball. The Catalina Island fox is endemic to the Island, meaning the species is found here, and no where else in the world.
A special auction to raise additional funding for the continuing Catalina Island Fox Recovery Program will be held during the evening, presided over by master auctioneer, Joe Bauer, the Bauer of Hudson & Bauer that has become San Diego's longest running and most successful morning radio team. Over the years, Baur has helped raise millions of dollars for local charities.
After an outbreak of canine distemper virus in 1999 decimated the fox population on the Island - it fell from 1,300 to about 100 individuals. The Conservancy and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, a conservation organization with prior experience working with the Conservancy on Catalina, formulated a recovery program that included a captive breeding strategy.
Because the Fox Recovery Program was such a success, the captive breeding phase ended in December, 2004, with a new phase of rigorous monitoring already begun. Funding is currently been sought for additional research into mysterious ear tumors which plague the Catalina foxes.
"Emeralds in Avalon" The 10th annual Catalina Conservancy Ball will be held on Saturday, April 2 in the Avalon Casino Ballroom, hosted by the founders of "The Ball" - Corsair Yacht Club. Featured will be a black tie diner and big band dancing, and silent and live auctions. Doors open 5:00 pm. | 
