CATALINA ISLAND >> The Catalina Island Fox, once one of the world’s most endangered species, might now be considered one of the world’s most pampered wild animal populations.

The housecat-size creature has an adorable little nose, big pointy ears and a fluffy tail, but its innocent looks belie its place as the top terrestrial predator on the island.

Despite its big-man-on-campus status, a strain of canine distemper brought by island visitors decimated the population of 1,300 about a dozen years ago, leaving only 100 of the omnivorous creatures alive.

Conservation workers have put millions of dollars and an impressive amount of heart into saving the cute predators since then. And, now, the foxes are not only saved, they’re thriving on the 76-square-mile island.

This week, Catalina Island Conservancy workers are finishing a month-long project trapping hundreds of the monogamous mammals to estimate their numbers and the overall health of their population.

The final count will come in about a month but workers expect to see about 1,500 foxes — a peak they reached in 2011. Last year, they estimated that about 1,500 foxes still remained.

“This makes one of the fastest recoveries of an endangered species on record,” said Ann Muscat, president of the conservancy, which is in charge of maintaining 88 percent of the island’s largely undeveloped areas. “But we’re not done. This is an example of what it means to do conservation in a lived landscape.

“We welcome people to Catalina and, at the same time, we are managing the health of Catalina’s ecosystem and humans are a big part of that.”

Humans are now the fox’s saviors, but they are also believed to have been the cause of their near-extinction, Muscat said. It was humans who accidentally brought raccoon stowaways infested with the deadly virus on boats to the island, scientists believe.

In 1999, conservationists realized the extent of the virus’s reach and began drastic actions to save them. A captive breeding facility was opened with 20 pairs of foxes. Once a canine distemper vaccine was discovered, immunizations commenced.

Now, every trapped fox is immunized and given the kind of health care that would make some humans jealous.

On Friday, Julie King, the island’s conservation and wildlife management director, checked traps carefully baited along the island’s craggy hillsides. Foxes are lured into cages padded with a grass bedding and an irresistible treat of wet and dry cat food mixed with loganberry jam.

Conservation workers give the trapped foxes a 20-minute physical that includes rabies and canine distemper vaccinations, and treatment for parasites such as fleas and ear mites.

Conservation workers take blood samples, check the health of the animals’ teeth, ears and reproductive capabilities, and tag them with microchips so they can keep detailed records of the ones that are trapped repeatedly.

“They are the best-cared-for wild animal on the planet,” said John Mack, the conservancy’s conservation and education chief. “There are animals we’ve known their whole lives. In my business, it’s uncommon to have a personal relationship like this with animals.”

Catalina Island Foxes are a genetically distinct population of wild animals. Though there are related fox sub-species on five other Channel Islands, Catalina’s foxes can be distinguished by their larger size (they can weigh up to 6 pounds) and a slightly darker coat with shades of brown and gray, King said.

They are one of 62 species of endemic plants and animals on the island, and are believed to have arrived with Native Americans at least 8,000 years ago, Mack said.

Other island-specific species under close watch include the rare Scripp’s Murrelets, the trap-door spider, and a bevy of invasive plants.

The unique definable boundary of the island makes this kind of conservation work easier, in the sense that it is a small, confined area. But the challenges continue, Muscat said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently monitoring the health of the fox population and considering its removal from the endangered species list.

“I think this shows the challenges inherent in long-term conservation work,” Muscat said. “It’s not just about buying the island and putting a fence up around it. It has to be managed for its ecological health and also be a place for people to visit and enjoy.

“We can reverse some of the damage that we’ve done, but we’d be naïve to think it’s a one-shot kind of thing. We always have to be vigilant.”

And there are always new threats on the horizon. Researchers have discovered an ear tumor that some older foxes have developed, possibly due to ear-wax buildup. Island researchers are now trying to understand why the tumors grow and how to combat them.