Foxes in trees: a threat for Australian arboreal fauna?
Valentina S. A. Mella A C , Clare McArthur A , Robert Frend B and Mathew S. Crowther AA School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
B 9 Tennant Court, Gunnedah, NSW 2380, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: valentina.mella@sydney.edu.au
Australian Mammalogy 40(1) 103-105 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM16049
Submitted: 16 September 2016 Accepted: 29 January 2017 Published: 13 February 2017
Abstract
We document the first evidence of tree climbing by red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Australia. Camera traps recorded foxes in trees on the Liverpool Plains, New South Wales. This finding prompts a reassessment of the impact that this invasive predator has on Australian fauna: from purely terrestrial to also potentially arboreal.
Additional keywords: camera trapping, exotic predator, feathertail glider, koala, tree climbing.
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