Review of the management of feral animals and their impact on ...

Dingoes can become a threat to wildlife because <strong>of</strong> two factors: in some areas <strong>the</strong>ir
numbers have risen because <strong>of</strong> provision <strong>of</strong> water <strong>and</strong> increased abundance <strong>of</strong> food
(mainly macropods <strong>and</strong> rabbits), <strong>and</strong> because some <strong>animals</strong> are now so rare that any
mortality poses a threat to <strong>the</strong>ir future.
Some threatened species are now so rare that dingoes are controlled along with o<strong>the</strong>r
predators. In north-western South Australia <strong>the</strong> black-flanked rock wallaby has been
reduced to three very small colonies. Foxes are implicated as <strong>the</strong> cause <strong>of</strong> this decline,
but <strong>the</strong> baiting programs target dingoes as well. Dingoes were considered a significant
predator <strong>of</strong> endangered Rufous hare-wallabies (Lundie-Jenkins et al. 1993) in <strong>the</strong>
Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Terrirory, prior to <strong>the</strong>ir becoming extinct in <strong>the</strong> wild because <strong>of</strong> cat
predation.
Dingoes are usually valued by biodiversity managers because <strong>the</strong>y exert some control
over o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>feral</strong> <strong>animals</strong> <strong>and</strong> kangaroos. In <strong>the</strong> Tanami, dingoes prey on threatened
Bilbies, but <strong>the</strong>y also suppress Foxes <strong>and</strong> Cats, which are worse predators <strong>of</strong> bilbies
(Glen Edwards pers. comm.). In one study in <strong>the</strong> Tanami, cat remains were found in
nine per cent <strong>of</strong> dingo scats, suggesting that dingoes exercise a considerable degree <strong>of</strong>
control over cats (R. Paltridge pers. comm.). The Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Territory Parks <strong>and</strong>
Wildlife Commission is testing toxic baits placed inside funnels that permit access to
foxes but not cats or dingoes. The sou<strong>the</strong>rn region <strong>of</strong> Australia, from which dingoes
have largely been extirpated, corresponds with <strong>the</strong> region from which most native
mammal extinctions have occurred, <strong>and</strong> in which Goats are most destructive, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>
role <strong>of</strong> dingoes in suppressing fox, cat <strong>and</strong> goat numbers appears to be very
significant to biodiversity.
In large intact areas, dingoes could be considered innocent until proven guilty, but
where threatened fauna are disappearing from small or degraded areas, dingoes should
be considered guilty until proven innocent.
3.7.5 Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Summary
The fox is a major predator blamed for <strong>the</strong> extinction <strong>of</strong> several marsupials <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>
threatened status <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r species. In some situations foxes provide a benefit by
controlling rabbits.
Distribution
Foxes occur throughout <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn half <strong>of</strong> Australia, as far north as <strong>the</strong> Great S<strong>and</strong>y
Desert, Tanami Desert, <strong>the</strong> Gulf country <strong>of</strong> Queensl<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> north Queensl<strong>and</strong>. It is
most absent from Cape York Peninsula, parts <strong>of</strong> central Queensl<strong>and</strong>, <strong>the</strong> Top End <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Territory <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Kimberley.
Some experts contend that foxes are spreading northwards (Edwards et al. 2003). This
could not be confirmed because <strong>the</strong> nor<strong>the</strong>rn limit <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fox fluctuates, exp<strong>and</strong>ing
northwards after a run <strong>of</strong> good years <strong>and</strong> contracting southwards during droughts
(Strahan 1998). Surveys <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Tanami Desert in <strong>the</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Territory in <strong>the</strong> 1980s
did not record foxes, yet foxes occur <strong>the</strong>re today. However, <strong>the</strong> earlier surveys, which
relied on trapping <strong>and</strong> night drives, could have overlooked foxes, which are best
detected by searching for <strong>the</strong>ir tracks (R. Paltridge pers. comm.). Traditional
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