The use of baits to estimate fox numbers.

Within a research project on red fox ecology in different habitats around Saarbrücken a new method to estimate fox numbers has been developed. Baits are laid out on a 13 km2 large core area within each study area. In each km2 four times two chicken heads are deposited once a month, each time in a different site. The bait acceptance seems to reflect relative fox densities very well if compared with other estimates like the use of automatic cameras, tracking in snow or distribution of used fox dens. It is a cheap, quick and easy to handle method to estimate fox densities in different habitats during all seasons of the year. A number of factors (behavioural adaptations meteorological conditions, natural food resources, and competitor species) that may influence bait acceptance are discussed.