Mountain pygmy possum

Burramys parvus

Blamed on foxes

IUCN status: Critically Endangered

EPBC Predator Threat Rating: Very high

IUCN claim: “Predation by the introduced Red Fox is also a threat”

Studies in support

Possums were found in fox scats in three studies (Green & Osborne 1981; Green 2003; Davis et al. 2015).

Studies not in support

No studies

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

No studies were found linking foxes to pygmy possum population trends.

Evidence linking Burramys parvus to foxes. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Burramys parvus and foxes. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that foxes contribute to the decline of Burramys parvus, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. Gold borders indicate studies that meet qualities of scientific rigour. See methods section in Wallach and Lundgren 2025 for details on evidence categories.
Evidence linking Burramys parvus to foxes. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Burramys parvus and foxes. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that foxes contribute to the decline of Burramys parvus, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. Gold borders indicate studies that meet qualities of scientific rigour. See methods section in Wallach and Lundgren 2025 for details on evidence categories.

References

Davis, N.E., Forsyth, D.M., Triggs, B., Pascoe, C., Benshemesh, J., Robley, A., Lawrence, J., Ritchie, E.G., Nimmo, D.G. and Lumsden, L.F., 2015. Interspecific and geographic variation in the diets of sympatric carnivores: dingoes/wild dogs and red foxes in south-eastern Australia. PloS One, 10(3), p.e0120975.

EPBC. (2015) Threat Abatement Plan for Predation by Feral Cats. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Department of Environment, Government of Australia. (Table A1).

Green, K. and Osborne, W.S., 1981. The diet of foxes, Vulpes vulpes (L.), in relation to abundance of prey above the winter snowline in New South Wales. Wildlife Research, 8(2), pp.349-360.

Green, K., 2003. Altitudinal and temporal differences in the food of foxes (Vulpes vulpes) at alpine and subalpine altitudes in the Snowy Mountains. Wildlife Research, 30(3), pp.245-253.

IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023

Wallach A.D., Lundgren E.J. (2025) Review of evidence that foxes and cats cause extinctions of Australia’s endemic mammals. BioScience. DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaf046