Channel Island foxes. Photo by National Park Service via Wikimedia Commons

Foxes that were brought to the Channel Islands of California by tribal ancestors more than 10,000 years ago are surviving even though they are very closely related, according to scientists.

The island fox is classified into six subpecies, each living on a different island. Although each subspecies is genetically unique, scientists discovered that the DNA they inherited is virtually identical. In fact, two foxes from San Nicolas Island were like identical twins, The New York Times reported.

Lack of diversity would normally cause problems for any species. But the foxes are unique because they have survived on their individual islands for tens of thousands of years.

“They’re an exception to the paradigm," Robert K. Wayne, a geneticist who led the study that was published in Current Biology, told The Times.

The Channel Islands were once home to Chumash, Tongva and other tribal peoples. The last Indian person who was documented to have lived there was Juana Maria, who died in 1853.

The tribal population was close to the fox population and, even today, the foxes are welcoming of humans. Foxes were given special burials and are depicted in rock art around the islands. The Chumash people considered the animals to be sacred, according to the National Park Service.

Despite their ability to survive on the islands, four of the six subspecies are considered endangered.

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Foxes That Endure Despite a Lack of Genetic Diversity (The New York Times 4/22)