{"id":500983,"date":"2026-02-24T12:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/500983\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T12:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:50:08","slug":"extraordinary-moment-electric-fence-turns-tables-on-invasive-predator-hunting-rare-aussie-animal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/500983\/","title":{"rendered":"Extraordinary moment electric fence turns tables on invasive predator hunting rare Aussie animal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Incredible nighttime footage shows a feral predator\u2019s attempts to attack vulnerable populations of native animals were thwarted by a security measure. With reasonable ease, the European red fox<\/a> can be seen climbing a two-metre fence that surrounds a 1,000-hectare property in Victoria\u2019s west.<\/p>\n

But as it scrambles towards the top, it\u2019s zapped by an electric wire. The shock didn\u2019t inflict long-term harm, but it taught the fox a valuable lesson about breaching the fence.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, it protected the eastern quolls<\/a> and eastern barred bandicoots that live at Tiverton, a 1,000-hectare merino sheep farming property.<\/p>\n

The business is in partnership with the Odonata Foundation<\/a>, a conservation charity that\u2019s dedicated to protecting rare species that are threatened by invasive species like foxes and cats.<\/p>\n

Its chief operating officer Matt Singleton said foxes are \u201chighly destructive\u201d in Victoria because of their \u201ckill and cache\u201d behaviour.<\/p>\n

This means they\u2019ll go on a hunting frenzy, decimating populations, so they can store the carcasses for a rainy day.<\/p>\n

Seeing a fox’s attempts to kill defeated is satisfying to watch for many ecologists because of the harm the species has inflicted on native animals in Australia.<\/p>\n

In 2024, a video showing a fox being chased off by a wallaby<\/a> created a sensation after it was shared by wildlife rescue group WIRES.<\/p>\n

\"Four<\/p>\n

The fox begins to climb the two-metre-high fence but is then shocked by an electric pulse. Source: Odonata Foundation<\/p>\n

Second video shows hungry fox watching prey through fence<\/p>\n

Tiverton has a complex rocky habitat and grassy plains. Although the farm is predator-free, it\u2019s surrounded by modified landscapes that have high populations of cats and foxes.<\/p>\n

For years, the Odonata Foundation was aware that foxes had been trying to find a way to breach the fence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe probably pick up between a dozen and half a dozen foxes on cameras every night patrolling the fence, looking for a weakness to try and get in,\u201d Singleton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this is the first one we\u2019ve got one on camera trying to climb it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most often, the company’s fixed trail cameras capture vision of foxes watching prey on the other side of the fence.<\/p>\n

A 2024 clip shows a bandicoot oblivious to the predator watching it through the wire as it hops around at night.<\/p>\n

Surprising scale of fox’s impact on Aussie wildlife<\/p>\n

The eastern quoll and the eastern-barred bandicoot were both declared extinct on Australia\u2019s mainland because of invasive species, but efforts have been successful in recovering them in areas where predators are excluded.<\/p>\n

But they\u2019re not the only species to be threatened by foxes in Victoria.<\/p>\n

In just 25 years, around 3,400 little penguins were killed on Phillip Island, before foxes were eradicated in 2015.<\/p>\n

And in 2025, a fox managed to breach Melbourne Zoo\u2019s high-security fencing<\/a> and kill long-nosed potoroos, a species listed as vulnerable to extinction.<\/p>\n

Brushtail possums once lived across outback Australia, but their range declined by 80 per cent following the introduction of the red fox.<\/p>\n

Other small mammals like bilbies have also significantly declined.<\/p>\n

Increasingly, many Australian species can only survive on islands<\/a>, sanctuaries, or predator-proof fenced properties.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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