Protecting Australian mammals from introduced cats and foxes: Australia’s haven network

Since their introduction in the late 1700s, cats have spread across the entire Australian mainland and Tasmania, and are present on many of the larger islands. European red foxes were introduced in the 1870s, and now occupy most of the mainland south of the tropics and some large islands. We assessed the susceptibility of each Australian terrestrial mammal species and subspecies (other than bats) to predation by foxes and cats at the population level. We found that one quarter, or 67 species and subspecies, are highly or extremely susceptible to introduced predators, and need protection within havens.