BEND, OR -- Oregon wildlife biologists captured and radio-collared a rare sub-species of red fox in Deschutes County, this week. The Sierra Nevada red fox (SNRF) was an adult female. The species is generally smaller than other red foxes and average about eight pounds.

Oregon's Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Wildlife Ecology Institute continue a SNRF study that began in 2012 and are now in the phase to capture and collar the foxes in the Oregon Cascades. Officials hope to collar nine more SNRF by the end of June 2018. ODFW uses specialized cage traps originally designed for bobcats. Collars are active for one year and are monitored by ODFW technicians.