Red foxes pose a serious conservation problem in Australia. 2012 estimates indicate that there are more than 7.2 million

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

es (''Vulpes vulpes'') and growing with a range extending throughout most of the continental mainland. The species became established in Australia through successive introductions by settlers in 1830s. Due to its rapid spread and ecological impact it has classified as one of the most damaging

invasive species in Australia Invasive species in Australia are a serious threat to the native biodiversity, and an ongoing cost to Australian agriculture. Numerous species arrived with European maritime exploration and colonisation of Australia and steadily since then. ...

Introduction and spread

Red foxes were introduced to the British colonies of

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

(as early as 1833) and the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

and Sydney Regions of New South Wales (as early as 1845) for the purpose of the traditional English sport of

fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hou ...

. Curiously a permanent fox population was not established on the island of Tasmania and it is widely held that they were outcompeted by the

Tasmanian devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales in ...

. On the mainland, however, the species was successful as an

apex predator An apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic lev ...

. The spread of red foxes across the southern part of the continent has coincided with the spread of

rabbits in Australia European rabbits (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') were first introduced to Australia in the 18th century with the First Fleet, and later became widespread likely because of Thomas Austin. Such wild rabbit populations are a serious mammalian pest an ...

, another invasive species also introduced in the 19th century that is a key prey of the red fox.

Current distribution

Established populations of red fox are found in all states and are widespread throughout the country with the exception of tropical areas of northern Queensland, the Kimberley and the Top End of the Northern Territory. From 2010, confirmed evidence of foxes in Tasmania has been reported by the state's Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment. Foxes are found in ever higher concentrations in densely populated suburban areas and in large cities such as Melbourne. It is generally less common in areas where the

dingo The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient ( basal) lineage of dog found in Australia. Its taxonomic classification is debated as indicated by the variety of scient ...

is more prevalent; however, it has, primarily through its burrowing behaviour, achieved

niche differentiation In ecology, niche differentiation (also known as niche segregation, niche separation and niche partitioning) refers to the process by which competing species use the environment differently in a way that helps them to coexist. The competitive excl ...

with both the

feral dog A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of ...

and the

feral cat A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

Ecological impacts

The West Australian conservation department, CALM, estimates introduced

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill t ...

s are responsible for the extinction of ten native species in that state. The species has been directly implicated in the extinction and decline of populations of the family Potoroidae including the extinction of the Desert rat-kangaroo. The spread of the red fox population corresponds with declines in the distribution of several medium-sized ground-dwelling mammals, including brush-tailed bettongs,

burrowing bettong The boodie (''Bettongia lesueur''), also known as the burrowing bettong or Lesueur's rat-kangaroo, is a small, furry, rat-like mammal native to Australia. Once common throughout the continent, it is now restricted to a few coastal islands. A memb ...

rufous bettong The rufous rat-kangaroo or rufous bettong (''Aepyprymnus rufescens'') is a small, jumping, rat-like mammal native to eastern Australia. It is the only species in the genus ''Aepyprymnus''. The largest member of the rat-kangaroo family ( Potoroid ...

s, bilbies,

numbat The numbat (''Myrmecobius fasciatus''), also known as the noombat or walpurti, is an insectivorous marsupial. It is diurnal and its diet consists almost exclusively of termites. The species was once widespread across southern Australia, but ...

s, bridled nailtail wallabies and

quokka The quokka (''Setonix brachyurus'', ) is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. It is the only member of the genus ''Setonix''. Like other marsupials in the macropod family (such as kangaroos and wallabies), the quokka is herbiv ...

s. Most of these species now only live in limited areas (such as islands) where red foxes are absent or rare. In 2016 researchers documented that some red foxes in Australia had learned to climb trees to look for baby koalas and other unsuspecting creatures such as gliders, dispelling the long-held belief that tree-dwelling creatures were safe from them.

Claimed benefits

On the contrary to above, some researchers argue that there could be benefits of feral foxes for suppressing the number of rats and rabbits or even

s, and eradication of foxes may harm native ecosystem indirectly.

Management and control

Local eradication programs exist, although eradication has proven difficult due to the denning behaviour and nocturnal hunting, so the focus is on management with the introduction of state bounties. The main form of control is baits, typically containing 1080 poison. Fox hunting is legal in all states and they are typically shot with the aid of

spotlighting Spotlighting or lamping (also known as jacklighting, shining, illuminating, and pit-lamping) is a method of hunting nocturnal animals using off-road vehicles and high-powered lights, spotlights, lamps or flashlights, that makes special use of ...

at night or attracted using fox whistles during the day. The eyeshine signature (from the ''

tapetum lucidum The ''tapetum lucidum'' ( ; ; ) is a layer of tissue in the eye of many vertebrates and some other animals. Lying immediately behind the retina, it is a retroreflector. It reflects visible light back through the retina, increasing the light av ...

'' in the eye) of foxes, and body shape and

silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

are used to identify them. The reintroduction of competitive species has also been suggested as a method of control. Research by the CSIRO concluded that the presence of

s not only decrease the presence of foxes, but increase native fauna. Professor Chris Johnson of

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...

and Dr Euan Ritchie of

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Pond ...

have advocated the reintroduction of Tasmanian Devils to the mainland to perform a similar role as evidenced by past eradication of foxes from Tasmania as well as to ensure the ongoing survival of that native species.

Western Shield Program

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

n state government authorities conduct aerial and hand baiting on almost to control foxes (and

s) as part of the Western Shield pest management program.

Fox Free Tasmania program

According to the Tasmanian government, red foxes were introduced to the previously fox free island of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in 1999 or 2000, posing a significant threat to native wildlife including the

eastern bettong The eastern bettong (''Bettongia gaimardi''), also known as the southern or Tasmanian bettong, is a small, hopping, rat-like mammal native to grassy forests of southeastern Australia and Tasmania. A member of the rat-kangaroo family ( Potoroidae) ...

and an eradication program conducted by the Tasmanian

Department of Primary Industries and Water The Tasmanian Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) is the government department of the Tasmanian Government responsible for supporting primary industry development, the protection of Tasmania's natural environment, effective lan ...

has been established. An independent member of the Tasmanian state Parliament, Ivan Dean, has claimed that the fox introductions are a hoax, a claim the Minister for Primary Industry, David Llewellyn described as a "load of rubbish". Tasmania is estimated to have the

carrying capacity The carrying capacity of an environment is the maximum population size of a biological species that can be sustained by that specific environment, given the food, habitat, water, and other resources available. The carrying capacity is defined as ...

to support a population of up to 300,000 foxes.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Foxes Invasive animal species in Australia

Foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

Fauna naturalised in Australia