The spotted-tailed quoll is the Australian mainland’s largest carnivorous marsupial and is listed as a threatened species.
Spotted-tailed quolls live for 3-4 years in the wild.
Quolls were among the first native animals to be described by European scientists.
Spotted-tailed quolls are highly mobile. They can travel up to several kilometres per night and have large territories.
Found in eastern NSW, eastern Victoria, south-east and north-eastern Queensland and Tasmania
The spotted-tailed quoll is about the size of a domestic cat but with shorter legs and a pointed face. The average weight of an adult male is about 3 kg, with adult females averaging around 1.5–2 kg. They have rich-rust to dark-brown fur, irregular white spots on their back and tail (which can be indistinct in juveniles) and a pale belly.
Spotted-tailed quolls compete for food and are killed by introduced predators such as foxes. They are also threatened by habitat loss and damage.
Deliberate poisoning, shooting and trapping of them due to a response to chicken predation.
We need to understand more about spotted-tailed quoll population health and breeding behaviour.
Identify strongholds or hotspots for the species and care for the vegetation corridors that link their habitat.
Increase and manage areas of habitat in and around known hotspots
Control foxes in a way that doesn’t harm the quolls.
$10,000
Shoalhaven Landcare is working in partnership with the Saving our Species program.
Join a local Landcare revegetation project that is reconnecting fragmentated forest habitats in your area https://landcareaustralia.org.au/landcare-get-involved/
James Evans/DPIE
