San Nicolas Island wildlife

An island fox, native to San Nicolas Island, yawns while sitting near a shed.  (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)

San Nicolas Island’s beaches are home to many animals, including curious California sea lions.  (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)

Officials from the Navy and environmental groups have completed a three-year program to relocate feral cats off San Nicolas Island.  (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)

Biologist Chad Hanson led the cat-removal effort for Island Conservation, a nonprofit that eradicates invasive species on islands around the world.  (Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times)

A feral cat that was trapped on San Nicolas Island in 2009 drinks water from a bowl at the Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, Calif.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Ali Crumpacker, director of Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, Calif., plays with feral cats that were trapped on San Nicolas Island in 2009. Crumpaker said that after scores of generations, this “San Nicolas Island” breed, which evolved from 1950s ranchers’ pets, mostly has a short tail and legs and big eyes.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

After three years in captivity, a feral cat that was trapped on San Nicolas Island in 2009 is plump in its bed at the Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, Calif.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A feral cat that was trapped on San Nicolas Island in 2009 is kept in a special pen at the Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, Calif.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

This cat, trapped on San Nicolas in 2009, now lives in Ramona, Calif.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)