3 days ago
Invasive predator strolls through Aussie suburb as crisis grows
An invasive predator was spotted strolling around an inner-city building this week, shocking Aussies passing by on their way to work. Photos show the brazen red fox casually strutting up a flight of stairs in Parkville, Melbourne, before wandering along what appears to be an apartment complex's fence — all in broad daylight.
The destructive pest, which locals say they have affectionately named 'Frédérique', was caught on camera by a curious man who briefly followed the animal. However the seemingly innocent scene is anything but.
Foxes are increasingly making their way into Aussie suburbs and major metropolitan areas, with cities like Perth, Sydney and Melbourne hosting the highest populations in the country. And it seems that residents are very aware of their presence, with some revealing online that they see 'Frédérique' walking around 'like he owns the place' on a daily basis.
'I hate that they're so cute but at the same time such a pest. I see them relatively frequently around the northern suburbs,' one Melburnian commented on the Reddit post. 'They're unfortunately quite common,' another added.
Urban areas have a higher population of foxes compared to rural areas due to the availability of food, water and shelter. It's estimated that there are as many as 16 foxes per square km in Melbourne, according to Agriculture Victoria.
According to recent research by the Australian National University, there are thought to be some 1.7 million foxes across the country, with populations found on 80 per cent of the continent. Their presence, along with feral cats, has had a devastating impact on our wildlife, contributing significantly to Australia's status as having the worst mammal extinction rate in the world.
Each year, foxes kill about 300 million native mammals, birds and reptiles. Along with human activity, foxes are speeding up the loss of native animals in our cities.
'The red fox has played a major role in the decline of ground-nesting birds and small to medium sized mammals in Victoria,' Parks Victoria says. 'Foxes are opportunistic predators and scavengers that impact native wildlife, spread weeds and cause production loss in livestock systems.'
In Victoria, foxes are declared as established pests, therefore all homeowners and land managers are required to take reasonable steps to help control their spread.
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Earlier this year, a fox was photographed standing in the middle of a busy Perth intersection in the middle of the day, not long after local authorities revealed the predators had killed 300 turtles in an ecologically significant set of wetlands over the span of a year.
In autumn, young foxes are 'on the move' in search of new territory after being 'kicked out of home', population management specialist Gillian Basnett recently told Yahoo.
However, in cities, it is particularly difficult to completely remove foxes. 'Because we're so close to human habitation and pet animals, it leaves us with a limited set of tools to manage fox numbers," she said.
Despite this, Basnett said there are things you can do to help protect local wildlife and deter foxes.
They include:
Don't leave pet food outside overnight
Use enclosed compost bins
Keep domestic animals secure at night
Remove fallen fruit around fruit trees
Keep garbage bins covered
Block entry points to drains
Close off access to underneath buildings
Use fox-proof enclosures for poultry — remember foxes dig and can climb
Turn off outside lights that might attract insects
Reduce weeds that provide food and shelter, such as Blackberries
Record sightings in FoxScan.
Deterrents need to be intermittent as they will habituate quickly. E.g. sensor spotlights rather than lights on all the time.
Have gardens with lots of plants that wildlife can hide in, grasses, shrubs, rocks, logs, etc.
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