It took just 60 years for red foxes to colonise Australia from Victoria to the Pilbara

"European red foxes and domestic cats brought to Australia kill about 300 million native animals in Australia every year and remain the major driver of past and current extinctions."

"The first red foxes, (Vulpes vulpes), to arrive in Australia were deliberately released by European colonialists in 1870 in three Victorian locations – Werribee, Corio (near Geelong) and Ballarat. They were introduced for the “noble” sport of fox hunting."

"Unfortunately, the suppression of dingoes across Australia following European colonisation is at least partly to blame for the explosion in fox numbers because there are not sufficient densities of dingoes control foxes. Foxes flourish in areas modified by humans. We show that their populations are densest around urban centres, and they do well after land is cleared for agriculture."
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https://theconversation.com/it-took-just-60-years-for-red-foxes-to-colonise-australia-from-victoria-to-the-pilbara-267322
#biodiversity #NativeWildlife #conservation #dingo #extinction #hunting #SettlerSociety #synanthropes #InvasiveSpecies #cats #foxes #BellingenShire