The Red Fox was introduced to Australia. Van Dieman’s Land received them in 1833 or thereabouts but that introduction was a failure. The mainland was next in the 1840’s and that proved more successful. All so the landed gentry could don their red coats and hunt with hounds. They are now established in all the mainland states although they have not been particularly successful in the tropics.
They have been blamed for the loss of a number of native species although untangling the cause of extinctions is complicated by the success of feral cats and the Dingo that preceded both. Foxes are a major problem in nesting colonies of the Little Penguin and other ground nesting birds. Not that they are confined to the ground. They climb well and have been implicated in killing young Koalas.
They can become tame in urban settings but in the bush they remain wary. I spotted this one coming across a field well before it spotted me and kept very still as it approached. When it saw me it bolted.
bobmcgee 
Down here in Tasmania there are apparently no foxes, but there’s been a number of unconfirmed sightings and possible hoax reports. The government still runs a “Fox Eradication Program” to monitor for any fox activity on the island, but so far they’ve not found any conclusive evidence of foxes (who knows though, there’s a LOT of very rugged and untouched wilderness they could survive in without detection).
Thanks for the comment. I was tempted to discuss the Tasmanian situation but it’s somewhat confusing. The orthodox view is that the Devil had the mesopredator niche sewn up. Foxes simply couldn’t compete. Much later when the Devil facial tumour took its toll some Foxes were “found”, a persistent population, a new illegal introduction or a hoax, who knows. I certainly couldn’t shed any light on it.
I was also tempted to discuss what should be done to control Foxes and the question of reintroducing the Devil to the mainland. Again the water is muddy. If Cats and Foxes were easily eradicated what would happen with the Rabbits?
To do this topic properly would require a book not a blog! I just thought the photos were cool.
They have introduced a devil population on the mainland. Early days, but they’re doing well from what I hear! 🙂