Effect of rabies vaccination on population densities of Vulpes vulpes in south-western Poland (Carnivora: Canidae)

Abstract

Despite intensive studies on the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), little is known about current spatial and temporal dynamics of red fox populations. This study analysed the spatial and temporal changes of red fox populations in the south-western part of Poland in relation to main factors shaping the changes, above all the rabies vaccination. After a long period of low population density depressed by rabies, a rapid increase took place in the last decade of the 20th century, as a consequence of vaccination applied on a wide scale throughout SW Poland. The populations reached the highest levels ever in the two first decades of the 21st century, they stabilized, and at the end of the second decade they begun to decline. In 2001–2020, the crude population density ranged from 0.6 to 12 red foxes per 100 ha. It was highest in the regions with the lowest afforestation (6.7–12 ind./100 ha), whereas in the regions with the highest afforestation it was the lowest (0.6–0.8 ind./100 ha). The ecological consequences of these changes in the fox population densities are paralleled with changes in population densities of many prey species and fox’s competitors.