Rambo (2018 – c. October 2022) was the name given to a

feral A feral (; ) animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in som ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

(''Vulpes vulpes'') that survived for more than four years in a fenced wildlife

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

in the Pilliga forest, New South Wales. Rambo was regularly photographed by

camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by motion in its vicinity, like the presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor—usually a passive infrared (PIR) sensor or an active infrared ...

s but evaded all attempts to trap, poison, or shoot him, delaying the planned reintroduction of several threatened mammal species. He was named for

John Rambo John James Rambo is a fictional character in the Rambo (franchise), ''Rambo'' franchise. He first appeared in the 1972 novel ''First Blood (novel), First Blood'' by David Morrell, but later became more famous as the protagonist of the film serie ...

, the main character in the 1982 film ''

First Blood ''First Blood'' is a 1982 American war action film starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. Directed by Ted Kotcheff, the film was co-written by Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, and Stallone, deriving from the 1972 no ...

''.

Background

The Pilliga is a wildlife conservation area jointly managed by the

Australian Wildlife Conservancy The Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is an independent Australian nonprofit organisation, working to conserve threatened wildlife and ecosystems in Australia. AWC is the largest private owner and manager of land for conservation in Austral ...

and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. The area has an area of 35,632 ha and includes parts of Pilliga National Park and Pilliga State Conservation Area. Within a 5,800-ha triangle surrounded by predator-proof fencing, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy planned to reintroduce at least six locally extirpated mammal species into the project's fenced area, including the greater bilby,

western quoll The western quoll (''Dasyurus geoffroii'') is Western Australia's largest endemic mammalian carnivore. One of the many marsupial mammals native to Australia, it is also known as the chuditch. The species is currently classed as near-threatened. ...

western barred bandicoot The Western barred bandicoot (''Perameles bougainville''), also known as the Shark Bay bandicoot or the Marl, is a small species of bandicoot; now extinct across most of its former range, the western barred bandicoot only survives on offshore isl ...

brush-tailed bettong The woylie or brush-tailed bettong (''Bettongia penicillata'') is a small, near threatened mammal native to forests and shrubland of Australia. A member of the rat-kangaroo family (Potoroidae), it moves by hopping and is active at night, diggin ...

, bridled nailtail wallaby, and plains mouse. However, prior to these reintroductions, all

feral cat A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact; it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

s and red foxes needed to be eradicated from the pest-free area.

Eradication attempts

Predator eradication attempts began in 2019, shortly after the predator-proof fencing was completed. It took about a year for conservation managers to remove six feral cats and five red foxes from the pest-free zone; however, a sixth fox proved more elusive. This fox, likely a kit born in 2018, is believed to have lost his mother to a trap and his sibling to 1080-bait, which may have made him more wary than a typical fox. Although photographed by infrared

s about every three months, the fox was rarely seen in person. After three years, he had only twice been seen by humans: the first time in 2019, when he briefly entered a staff camp, and again in 2020, when he was flushed out by scent-tracking dogs. Given his proclivity for avoiding capture, the fox was nicknamed Rambo, after the character played by

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

in the 1982 film ''

''. Over four and a half years, Rambo managed to avoid 10,400 traps, 3,500 poison baits, 73 stakeouts, and 55 days of scent-tracking dogs. He was easily identified in camera-trap photographs as the only remaining fox due to his tattered ears, which were damaged while he was killing the reserve's last feral cat. Scat analysis suggested that Rambo was feeding largely on insects, which is atypical for his species. Rambo's persistence delayed the planned species reintroductions for years. Greater bilbies and bridled nailtail wallabies were instead reintroduced to a smaller 680-ha fenced area within the larger reserve, where they thrived.

Death

In March 2023, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy announced that Rambo was most likely dead. He was last photographed on 9 October 2022, and is believed to have died during one of two flooding events that occurred in the Pillaga later that month. With Rambo's disappearance, the larger fenced reserve is now considered free of feral predators, allowing the reintroduction of threatened mammal species. No body was ever found, and there is a possibility that Rambo escaped the fenced reserve during a several-hour period when a fence was taken down to let the flooded creek run through.

References

Notes

Citations

{{reflist 2018 animal births 2022 animal deaths Foxes Individual animals in Australia Individual wild animals Individual canines