Myxy And Foxs.

[king 11,984]

When myxomatosis first came to Britain in the early 50s.

What effect did it have on fox numbers.if any ?.

Ive been reading lately about the explosion of rabbit numbers in Australia when the european rabbit was introduced.and was thinking did the European fox numbers greatly increase aswell.

And as the rabbits numbers seem to be dropping and the blame being the Rabbit haemorrhagic disease what will happen with fox numbers in the UK.

Edited April 18, 2016 by king

[Tiercel 6,986]

When myxomatosis first came to Britain in the early 50s.

What effect did it have on fox numbers.if any ?.

Ive been reading lately about the explosion of rabbit numbers in Australia when the european rabbit was introduced.and was thinking did the European fox numbers greatly increase aswell.

And as the rabbits numbers seem to be dropping and the blame being the Rabbit haemorrhagic disease what will happen with fox numbers in the UK.

They will have to pack their bags and move to town. Seriously though, any wild animal will find their own population levels depending on the food available. There is no such thing as a stable population it always fluctuates with the food available at the time.

 

TC

[taz2010 1,297]

foxes are on the increase weather there is rabbits or not imo

[king 11,984]

 

When myxomatosis first came to Britain in the early 50s.

What effect did it have on fox numbers.if any ?.

Ive been reading lately about the explosion of rabbit numbers in Australia when the european rabbit was introduced.and was thinking did the European fox numbers greatly increase aswell.

And as the rabbits numbers seem to be dropping and the blame being the Rabbit haemorrhagic disease what will happen with fox numbers in the UK.

 

They will have to pack their bags and move to town. Seriously though, any wild animal will find their own population levels depending on the food available. There is no such thing as a stable population it always fluctuates with the food available at the time.

 

TC

So on that theory tiercel.the fox numbers must of dramatically increased in Australia when the rabbit was introduced.

foxes are on the increase weather there is rabbits or not imo

What's the reason for that do you think taz.an increase since the ban.

[Tiercel 6,986]

foxes are on the increase weather there is rabbits or not imo

That will vary from area to area. say for an example you have an area with a high population of rabbits then the fox population will increase to the level of the food available. Take away the food source as in Mixie or VHD and there will be a population crash on the animals that need the rabbits for food.

 

TC

[Tiercel 6,986]

King I am willing to stand corrected but I think the European fox Vulpes vulpes was introduced to Australia in 1833 by which time there was already a plague of rabbit as they had been introduced in 1788 and had bred like rabbits. So from the off I would have said there would have been plenty for them to eat. When mixie was introduced in the 1950's I would have thought that there would have been a big population crash of the red fox. Perhaps one of our Australian members can give us more info?

 

TC

[pirate pack 109]

Pre myxy most farms and estates had full time rabbit catchers,which used gin traps by the million which would of kept the fox levels very low.the fox will eat such a variety of food from beetles fruit small animals and birds and dead rotten meat which would kill a domestic dog if eaten the fox will thrive on,so I don't think the low levels of rabbits will bother fox numbers.much.when I started keepering poison was used like shake and vac,and now we have night sites and high powerd rifles and still the fox survives.and good luck to him tally ho.

[neil cooney 10,416]

The whole reason the red fox thrived in Australia and became such a pest was because he found the slow moving Marsupials easy to catch, that and some flightless species of bird. When the rabbit was introduced it must have felt like Butlins to them, they were no longer the bottom of the food chain.

On this side of the world the fox is too much of an omnivorous survivor to have all his eggs in the one basket. He gets by.

Species like the stoat however do rely on a healthy rabbit population.

[Tiercel 6,986]

The whole reason the red fox thrived in Australia and became such a pest was because he found the slow moving Marsupials easy to catch, that and some flightless species of bird. When the rabbit was introduced it must have felt like Butlins to them, they were no longer the bottom of the food chain.

On this side of the world the fox is too much of an omnivorous survivor to have all his eggs in the one basket. He gets by.

Species like the stoat however do rely on a healthy rabbit population.

The rabbit was in Australia before the fox by around 50 years. No doubt they did take advantage of the natural fauna for food, but still had to compete with the Dingo for what food was available.

 

 

King I am willing to stand corrected but I think the European fox Vulpes vulpes was introduced to Australia in 1833 by which time there was already a plague of rabbit as they had been introduced in 1788 and had bred like rabbits. So from the off I would have said there would have been plenty for them to eat. When mixie was introduced in the 1950's I would have thought that there would have been a big population crash of the red fox. Perhaps one of our Australian members can give us more info?

 

TC

 

TC

[Tiercel 6,986]

A fairly detailed paper on the effects of VHD on the red fox in Australia.

 

http://www.southwestnrm.org.au/sites/default/files/uploads/ihub/saunders-g-et-al-2004-diet-foxes-vulpes-vulpes-south-eastern-australia.pdf

 

Edited to add: There does seem to be no definite date as to when the red fox was introduced to Australia I have seen three different dates so far. Ranging from 1833 to 1870 which one is the true date is hard to tell. Also this article only states what the surviving foxes fed on it does not give the density of foxes in affected areas.

 

TC

Edited April 18, 2016 by tiercel

[king 11,984]

A fairly detailed paper on the effects of VHD on the red fox in Australia.

 

http://www.southwestnrm.org.au/sites/default/files/uploads/ihub/saunders-g-et-al-2004-diet-foxes-vulpes-vulpes-south-eastern-australia.pdf

 

TC

That looks an interesting read but my phone won't open a pdf file tiercel.

I will look later on the laptop when my lad has gone to bed.

But surely the effects would be similar for the fox in the UK.

But it's a guess I can't read it yet.

[Tiercel 6,986]

 

A fairly detailed paper on the effects of VHD on the red fox in Australia.

 

http://www.southwestnrm.org.au/sites/default/files/uploads/ihub/saunders-g-et-al-2004-diet-foxes-vulpes-vulpes-south-eastern-australia.pdf

 

TC

That looks an interesting read but my phone won't open a pdf file tiercel.

I will look later on the laptop when my lad has gone to bed.

But surely the effects would be similar for the fox in the UK.

But it's a guess I can't read it yet.

 

From what I have read, there is after a time lag, a reduction in the number of foxes in an area hit by mixie or VHD, usually through smaller litter sizes. However, the remaining foxes do diversify in their feeding habits. As an omnivore they will eat more plant matter also more field voles.

 

TC

[ands 550]

Most of the great rabbitin spots i ve known usually werent great fox spots, so i guess lots of rabbits doesnt mean lots of foxes?

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Was the fox introduced to help with the rabbit plague or for sport ?

Fox numbers down here in Wilts have been affected by the lack of rabbits for sure .Its now a talked about event to see a rabbit and all down to RHD .Mixy was nothing compared to this devastation .Still plenty of fox about but nothing like pre RHD days .

[Haiddheliwr 1,911]

It is the same the other way around ands, some good fox spots have never held rabbits