The Diet of Foxes, Vulpes Vulpes (L.), In Relation to Abundance of Prey Above the Winter Snowline in New South Wales.

Abstract

In areas above 1500 m altitude in Kosciusko National Park, New South Wales, between December 1978 and February 1980, the diet of foxes showed strong seasonal trends, with a high occurrence of Orthoptera and Lepidoptera in the snow-free months when these were common, and a general absence of invertebrates when snow covered the area. Small native mammals occurred in the diet in all months and were the winter staple diet; the genera preyed upon were Antechinus, Burramys, Mastacomys and Rattus. Mastacomys fuscus, although less common than Rattus fuscipes, was preyed upon as heavily; the implications of this selective predation are discussed. Foxes showed some selective patterns of predation both in the snow-free months and in winter.