Wooster Eamonn, Wallach Arian D, Ramp Daniel
Centre for Compassionate Conservation, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Ultimo, New South Wales 2007, Australia.
Animals (Basel). 2019 Nov 1;9(11):907. doi: 10.3390/ani9110907.
The red fox () is a widespread and ecologically significant terrestrial mesopredator, that has expanded its range with human globalisation. Despite this, we know relatively little about their behaviour under the wide range of ecological conditions they experience, particularly how they navigate the risk of encounters with apex predators. We conducted the first ethological study of foxes outside their historic native range, in Australia, where both the foxes and their main predator were protected from human hunting. Using remote camera traps, we recorded foxes visiting key resource points regularly utilised by territorial dingoes (), their local apex predator, in the Painted Desert, South Australia. We constructed an ethogram sensitive to a range of behaviours and attitudes. Since foxes are suppressed by dingoes, we expected that the foxes would primarily be in a cautious state. In contrast, we found that foxes were in a confident state most of the time. Where human hunting is absent, social stability of predators may increase predictability and therefore decrease fear.
赤狐（Vulpes vulpes）是一种分布广泛且在生态方面具有重要意义的陆生中型食肉动物，它随着人类全球化进程扩大了其活动范围。尽管如此，我们对它们在经历的广泛生态条件下的行为了解相对较少，尤其是它们如何应对与顶级食肉动物相遇的风险。我们在澳大利亚对赤狐进行了首次在其历史原生范围之外的行为学研究，在那里，狐狸及其主要捕食者都受到保护，免受人类猎杀。我们使用远程摄像机陷阱，记录了狐狸定期前往南澳大利亚彩绘沙漠中领地性澳洲野犬（Canis dingo）（它们当地的顶级食肉动物）经常使用的关键资源点。我们构建了一个对一系列行为和态度敏感的行为图谱。由于狐狸受到澳洲野犬的压制，我们预计狐狸主要会处于谨慎状态。然而，我们发现狐狸大部分时间都处于自信状态。在没有人类猎杀的情况下，食肉动物的社会稳定性可能会增加可预测性，从而减少恐惧。
