Project snapshot: 

Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) Fox and Cat Control Project

Showcasing the Minjerribah / North Stradbroke Island Fox and Cat Control Project:

Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island, ‘Straddie’), lies within Moreton Bay, 30 kilometres southeast of Brisbane, Queensland. Minjerribah is the second-largest sand island in the world, with 275 square kilometres hosting a diverse array of ecosystems from mangroves and wetlands to old-growth forests and heathlands. With a sub-tropical climate, the island experiences warm moist summers and mild winters, creating an ideal environment for a rich diversity of flora and fauna.

The island is not only significant for its natural environments but also for its cultural heritage, being the traditional lands of the Quandamooka people. The Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) plays an integral role in the preservation and management of the island’s biodiversity. Minjerribah is threatened by invasive pests including feral cats and foxes which predate upon the island’s wildlife. Fox and feral cat control has been taking place on the island for more than a decade, run in collaboration between the QYAC, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) through the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Department of Resources, SEQ Water, Sibelco, and Healthy Land & Water.

Minjerribah / North Stradbroke Island, the traditional lands of the Quandamooka people, has a wide diversity of habitat types. Photo: CISS, NFCFMC Program.

Initial feral predator control work on the island focused on the management of the fox population. On Minjerribah, foxes threaten a wide variety of native animals including ground-nesting birds, small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Sea turtles including the endangered loggerhead and green turtles are particularly threatened by foxes, who destroy nests, consume eggs, and eat hatchlings when they are at their most vulnerable before they can reach the ocean. Efforts to control the invasive fox population have involved deploying bait stations, traps, and utilising monitoring cameras to observe and adapt to the behaviour of foxes interacting with these measures. This approach has proven highly effective, resulting in the removal of 90% of the foxes since its initiation. Despite substantial successes, difficulties have been encountered during the project. Adaptive management has allowed the program to be dynamic, with additional tools introduced across the life of the program including the employment of den detection dogs, padded leg-hold traps, and the fumigation of fox dens. This work has seen a significant decline in the fox population of Minjerribah, and the island is now close to achieving the complete eradication of these invasive predators.

A fox hunts a young kangaroo on Minjerribah / North Stradbroke Island. Photo: Celine Khaw via QPWS.

Foxes and cats on Minjerribah / North Stradbroke Island hunt a wide variety of native animals including bandicoots and wallabies. Photos: Dan Carter / QYAC.

However, with the diminishing fox population, the spotlight turned to another invasive predator: the feral cat. Feral cats have proven to be a formidable challenge due to their elusive nature and adaptability. Their impact is extensive as they travel long distances to hunt, affecting a range of native animals on the island, including squirrel gliders, bandicoots, and various bird species. Similar tools to foxes have been used to target feral cats, however unlike foxes, feral cats have been harder to manage with traditional baiting and trapping due to their hunting behaviours and the risk of non-target species being affected. In recent years, the project trialled the Felixer Grooming Trap, a unique species-specific management device that is designed to distinguish cats from native wildlife and other non-target species and deliver a lethal dose of toxin only to cats. Unfortunately, the field trail showed that that Felixers had the potential to trigger when Minjerribah koalas cross their paths. Given the risk to this non-target species, use of Felixer has not progressed. Newer models of the Felixer have reportedly fixed this issue by including cameras and AI to better recognise animals. Nevertheless, hope remains, and with their successes, QYAC is now also focused on delivery of a feral cat eradication program on nearby Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) using the knowledge and skills of QYAC, QPWS, and other stakeholders to deliver both islands free from feral cats. 

The Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) Fox and Cat Control Project has also placed an equal emphasis on another important part of the conservation toolkit: engagement. Community engagement to get support for the fox baiting program was significant and has allowed the project to go forward with community support. Future work in the program will focus on raising awareness among local residents and visitors about responsible pet ownership, highlighting the need to register, desex, and contain pets, especially at night, to prevent them from adding to the feral population or preying on native wildlife.

Fox and Cat numbers captured in camera monitoring on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) from 2018 to 2022. Image: QYAC Annual Report 2023.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Ranger and Traditional Owner, Isaac Burns has witnessed the change on the island first-hand. Prior to the control program, turtle nests were constantly dug up by foxes, and Isaac would see holes in nests each morning. After the fox program began, discoveries of disturbed turtle nests dropped, and the last recorded predation on a turtle nest on Minjerribah was in late 2016. A decade ago, Isaac would hear comments from people about where they had seen foxes. These days he instead enjoys hearing comments about increased sightings of bandicoots and other natives.

The Fox and Cat Control Project on Minjerribah stands as an example of what can be achieved through collaborative efforts. The initiative, championed by the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation and strongly supported by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service through its Indigenous rangers, has made strides in protecting the biodiversity of Minjerribah. This work is crucial, not just for its own sake, but for the heritage and culture it supports.

The project’s success in reducing and nearly eradicating foxes from the island paves the way for the recovery of native species and the restoration of ecological balance. The challenge of feral cats remains, but the island is positioned well for future successes in wildlife management. Minjerribah’s story demonstrates the achievements possible when diverse groups unite to protect our environment, its wildlife, and its people.

Information on this page was obtained from the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation, Healthy Land & Water, and Friends of Stradbroke Island.

This project snapshot initially appeared in the April 2024 issue of the National Feral Cat and Fox Management Coordination Program Newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, click here or fill out the form at the bottom of the page.

 Banner photo: Celine Khaw via QPWS.

Other Resources

Click here to find out more about FeralScan a free community-designed website and smartphone app that allows you to record observations and evidence of introduced pest animals (such as foxes and feral cats), the damage they cause (including predation of native wildlife or lambs), and control actions in your local area (such as baiting, trapping and shooting).

The PestSmart Toolkits provide further information about how to plan, manage and improve your feral cat or fox management program.

The CISS Glovebox Guides, Planning Guides and Field Guides are useful pdf or printed booklets for managing pest animals like feral cats and foxes, developing a simple feral cat or fox management plan or undertaking a best practice baiting program.