Estimating the density of foxes using spatially explicit mark-resight methods

Conservationists and managers increasingly want to use camera traps to estimate the population density of species that are elusive and difficult to observe, including invasive species such as feral cats and red foxes. Standard practice is to place cameras on tracks, however, for many species it is unclear whether this provides reliable estimates. We compared density estimates for the red fox from three different camera trap survey designs (on-track grid, on-track transect, off-track grid), over a two-year period across a 14,000 ha area at Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary in western New South Wales.