EFFICACY OF FOX CONTROL IN REDUCING THE MORTALITY OF RELEASED CAPTIVE-REARED MALLEEFOWL, LEIPOA-OCELLATA

The effectiveness of localised, high-intensity fox baiting in reducing the incidence of fox predation was examined after captive-reared mall eefowl were released and their survival monitored. Malleefowl released into baited areas survived longer than those released into nearby are as that had not been baited. Survival in both baited and non-baited ar eas was greater than that prior to any fox control. Of those malleefow l released, 29% were still alive three months later, whereas prior to fox control almost all were killed by foxes within a month of release. Despite the improvement in survival of malleefowl, fox predation rema ined the primary cause of malleefowl mortality. The number of baits ta ken by foxes indicated a large fox population and a high level of rein festation. A more widespread, but less intensive, regime of baiting fa iled to further enhance the survival of malleefowl. Malleefowl were al so particularly vulnerable to-predation by raptors in habitats where t he mallee was interspersed with areas of open woodland, and where the understorey was sparse. Fox baiting will need to be frequent, intensiv e and widespread to reduce fox density to levels where predation no lo nger threatens the survival or recovery of malleefowl populations.