The United States launched a controversial mission in 2004 to exterminate every feral pig on California’s Channel Islands after they attracted golden eagles that nearly wiped out endangered island foxes; by 2006, the pigs were gone, and the foxes began a remarkable recovery

A controversial mission to eradicate feral pigs from California’s Channel Islands in 2004 proved crucial for saving the critically endangered island fox. The pigs had disrupted the ecosystem, leading golden eagles to prey heavily on the foxes. Removing the pigs without first relocating the eagles would have endangered the foxes further, as a specific eagle pair demonstrated by shifting their diet to foxes.