Story perspectives

European Foxes' Rapid Spread Devastates Australian Wildlife

10/14/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Curtin University researchers find European red foxes colonized Australia in 60 years after their 1870 hunting introduction.
The study estimates foxes contributed to extinction of up to 16 mammal species and kill about 300 million native animals annually.
The study used historical records and simulations with the University of Adelaide and University of Copenhagen to map expansion, showing spread across southeastern Australia by 1895 and to the northwest by 1940.

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Story summary

Curtin University researchers find European red foxes colonized Australia in 60 years after their 1870 hunting introduction.
The study estimates foxes contributed to extinction of up to 16 mammal species and kill about 300 million native animals annually.
The study used historical records and simulations with the University of Adelaide and University of Copenhagen to map expansion, showing spread across southeastern Australia by 1895 and to the northwest by 1940.