 |
| Fox Ecology
It is important that all fox sightings or possible evidence of fox activity be reported immediately.
Ring the 24 hour Fox Hotline on 1300 FOX OUT (1300 369 688).
Fox cubs playing. |
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Diet
Territories and Activity
Predators and Competition
Further Information
Foxes are members of the Canidae family, and are related to dogs, jackals, coyotes and wolves. The origins of the red fox are unclear, but it is thought to have evolved in North America some 30-50 million years ago. In all there are 11 different species of fox throughout the world, although only the red fox is found in Australia.
The red fox was introduced to Australia around the 1850s, and quickly came to be recognised as a significant agricultural pest. Today they are widespread throughout southern Australia, but are infrequent to the north of the continent, being limited by the tropical climate, competition from dingoes, and lack of rabbits (which are a staple in their diet).
Adult fox and cub in den. |
Foxes are highly adaptable animals with no specific habitat requirements. They are equally at home in dense bushland, cleared agricultural land or urban environments, although complex environments offering a range of habitats are preferred.
Foxes have very acute senses of hearing and smell, however their eyesight is not as well developed.
The average life span of a fox is three to six years, although individuals may live up to 10 years. Interstate studies show that around 70% of foxes in a population are less than two years old.
Fox cubs playing. |
Foxes generally have only one mate, although social groups of one male to several females are known to exist. Females are reproductively receptive only once per year (seasonally mono-oestrous) and are stimulated to breed by changing day length and resource availability. Gestation is 51 to 53 days with most cubs (also sometimes called ‘kits’) being born between August and September. Mean litter size is four with up to 10 being possible in areas with abundant food. Litters are raised in dens, which are usually enlarged rabbit burrows.
Cubs are weaned by about one month and are sexually mature by 10 months. Juvenile foxes disperse from the parents’ home range from late summer through to breeding time in winter.
Foxes are opportunistic predators and scavengers, and will eat freshly killed meat, carrion, fruits, berries and even scraps from refuse sites. Any animal up to 5.5kg may be taken as prey. In Tasmania this includes bandicoots, potoroos, bettongs, lizards, lambs, goat kids, rabbits, rats, mice, free-range poultry and wild ducks. Blackberries and hawthorn berries are readily eaten, as are road kill and birthing membranes of livestock.
Fox with chicken kill. |
A single fox is estimated to eat about 400gm of food each night (roughly equivalent to one bandicoot). Over a year, this equates to around 150kg of food, however as foxes may kill many animals in a night, yet only consume a small amount of each, this will amount to thousands of mammals, reptiles, birds and insects killed each year by a single fox.
Foxes, like domestic dogs, ‘cache’ or store surplus food for later consumption. Caching is usually no more than simply placing the food in a small hole or depression, then lightly covering it with soil, however some foxes will also use stumps or similar structures. If food availability decreases, the cached food will be used, however if food levels remain high, the cached food is left and may be taken by other foxes or scavengers.
Fox on the run with prey.
Photograph: Clive Marks |
Foxes are generally solitary animals and usually hunt alone, except in the breeding season. They will maintain a well-defined home range with spatially stable borders. Scent markings with urine, scats (droppings) and secretions from anal glands, plus aggressive and non-aggressive confrontations and vocalisations are all used to define the borders. Ranges vary in size depending on habitat and availability of food, and have been recorded from around 9Ha in urban areas up to 1,600Ha in Arctic environments.
In general, foxes are active from dusk, particularly so after midnight, through to dawn. They rarely travel more than 10km per night within their home range, however they may revisit some sites within their home range several times a night. During the day they rest in dens or in sheltered sites such as stumps, hollow logs, or scrubby vegetation. A fox may use several resting sites within its home range and does not necessarily return to the same site each day.
The fox on mainland Australia has few natural predators except for humans, domestic and wild dogs, dingoes and eagles. Tasmania, however, has a range of native carnivores, such as the Tasmanian devil, which could prey upon fox cubs.
Apart from predation and human intervention, mortality is thought to be mostly due to seasonal factors such as drought (and its impact upon food availability), mange and distemper.
Contact: Fox Eradication General EnquiriesFox Eradication Program
167 Westbury Road
PROSPECT TAS 7250
Phone: 03 6336 5320
Fax: 03 6336 5453
Email: Fox.Enquiries@dpipwe.tas.gov.au
Media enquiries should be directed to 03 6233 3625; 0438042610.
Report fox sightings and other evidence to the FOX HOTLINE 1300 FOX OUT (1300 369 688)
| |
