The first eastern quolls to be born in the wild on mainland Australia in 50 years have emerged from the pouch and are roaming in Booderee National Park.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Quolls are considered extinct on the mainland, but they thrive in sanctuaries and in fox-free Tasmania.
In March, 20 quolls were reintroduced to the south coast national park in an attempt to re-establish the species in the wild, to help balance the ecosystem.
Only four survived, including three females. The others were run over by cars, attacked by snakes and fell prey to foxes despite significant control efforts.
The remaining quolls were moved into a more remote section of the park for better protection, and they have survived.
The GPS trackers around their necks were removed as rangers discovered they gain and lose weight year round, meaning the tracker was rubbing when weight was gained and became a hazard when weight was lost.
In June, 15 quolls babies were discovered in the pouches of three mums. At that time, they were the size of jelly beans.
Booderee National Park natural resources team leader Dion Maple said it wasn’t expected that they’d all survive but the team was thrilled to see that six have emerged so far.
Mr Maple said after they were first discovered, the quolls were moved to the new location within the park to give them a better shot at survival and then, he said, they were left alone to “get on with the job of being new mums”.
The team waited, but by mid-October they hadn’t spotted any of the babies on the cameras that are in place in the park.
“We decided to go down with a spotlight to see if we could spot the joeys. It was about the time they should have been emerging and coming out in the open,” he said.
Rob Brewster from Rewilding Australia was about 50 metres from Mr Maple when he spotted the young inside an old shed.
"I could see him looking back all jittery and I knew right then that there were joeys and they were out running around.
"Having had the mortalities and then moving the animals and knowing they had pouch young, it was just a phenomenal moment to see them, there were high fives and hugs all round."
"It was an amazing feeling, because this is a pilot study to look at whether the reintroduced eastern quolls persist in the environment with a high level of fox control. A measure of success I suppose is can they breed, and that we've got these joeys now that have been bred and are wild in an unfenced part of mainland Australia is an amazing thing."
The baby quolls have been microchipped and photographed to help identify them in future. There are three males, and three females. As the quoll's lifespan is only about two years, the babies will be able to breed in less than a year's time.
"We're very very happy. There may be more, we're going to continue trapping over the next few days to determine if there's more down there."
Australian National University researcher Natasha Robinson said the first eight months of the project have significantly contributed to the team's knowledge of what's required to reintroduce the species.
“Seeing joeys leave the pouch is another positive step for the project,” Dr Robinson said.
“We’ve now seen that the quolls reintroduced to the park can not only find food and shelter, but also breed and raise their young successfully.”
The team plans to introduce more quolls from Tasmania to the park early next year. It’s expected 100 quolls will be reintroduced over four years.
The Eastern Quoll Reintroduction Team is a partnership between Parks Australia, Rewilding Australia, The Australian National University, Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council, WWF Australia, the National Environmental Science Program Threatened Species Recovery Hub, Taronga Conservation Society, and Tasmanian Quoll Conservation Program sanctuaries; Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary and Devils at Cradle.
