Adorable dwarf fox thought extinct for 20 years photographed for the first time

This is a real fox news alert.

A rare Cozumel fox has been photographed in Cancun, proving that the species is not extinct as previously feared. While the elusive critter was snapped in 2023, the seminal photos were only recently released to the public via a study published in Neotropical Biology and Conservation.

“Seeing this fox standing there, calm and beautiful in its natural habitat, felt almost unreal,” wildlife Rafael Chacón told Smithsonian magazine of the “unforgettable” sighting, which occurred along Cozumel’s coastal highway.

The resultant blurry photo of the critter, which was captured and released by park officials following a health assessment, marked the first time this elusive creature had ever been caught on camera.

The critter (pictured) was captured and released following a health assessment. Jam Press/Rafael Chacón

It was also the first confirmed sighting since 2001 of the the enigmatic predator, which is found exclusively the on Cozumel, an island off of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

Also known as the dwarf fox, these miniature canines are up to 40% smaller than their mainland-dwelling gray fox counterparts, per a recent statement.

In fact, they evolved from gray foxes that lived on the island for thousands of years and turned into fun-size versions of themselves, much like the pygmy raccoon — another dwarf animal that’s endemic to Cozumel.

The foxes are found exclusively on the island of Cozumel, located off the Yucatan Peninsula. Jam Press/Neotropical Biology and Conservation journal

Unfortunately, not much else is known about the diminutive predator’s population.

No “species-specific” survey has ever been conducted while the only known physical evidence comes from 500 to 1,500-year-old remains dug from Mayan archaeological repositories, per the study.

While the photo confirms that the Cozumel fox is alive, the species is likely not well.

“It is considered critically endangered by scientific consensus and likely on the brink of extinction,” the researchers write.

This is perhaps unsurprising given the abundant threats facing the animals, including getting run over by cars and predation from feral dogs and cats.

In light of the recent sighting, scientists are calling on the powers that be to ramp up research and conservation measures so they can expand their understanding of the species.

“The biggest challenge facing the Cozumel fox is that we still know almost nothing about it, including its remaining population size, distribution, or ecology,” declared study’s lead author Travis Bayer, executive director of the conservation organization Pathos Wildlife. “That uncertainty alone is dangerous, because it makes effective conservation extremely difficult.”