The Eastern Quoll, once widespread in south-east Australia, has been extinct on the mainland since the s. Where they remain, quolls use a wide range of habitats. They live in coastal heathlands, sub-alpine woodlands, temperate woodlands and forests, riparian forests and wet sclerophyll forests.
Females are smaller than males and have smaller home ranges. Male quolls can move up to several kilometres a night in search of food. An Eastern Quoll caught and collared for research in the Tasmanian Midlands. Quolls generally shelter in these dens during the day and hunt alone at night. Quolls generally breed during winter. Being marsupials, quoll young pups spend the first part of their lives in a pouch.
Females have between five and eight pups per litter. Western Quoll pups outgrow the pouch after nine weeks, after which the young are left in a den while the female searches for food. Young reach independence and leave the den at around five months. The Spotted-tailed Quoll can eat medium-sized birds and mammals, such as possums and rabbits. Some Quolls can climb high into trees to capture prey, including tree-roosting sleeping birds.
Northern Quolls are the smallest, most aggressive and most arboreal tree-based of all quoll species, Eastern Quolls are the least. A Spotted-tail Quoll is released in the Tasmanian Midlands.
Quolls eat carrion dead animals , and are sometimes seen scavenging around campsites, rubbish bins and roadsides. Unfortunately this increases their risk of being hit by cars. Its distribution has declined dramatically, especially in the more arid parts of its range, with populations declining rapidly after the arrival of the cane toad.
Extant populations occur in the Pilbara, Kimberley, parts of the Northern Territory and near-coastal Queensland. Remnant populations are associated with rocky areas. In areas of its range with higher rainfall, and where cane toads do not occur such as Groote Eylandt and the northern Kimberley , the Northern Quoll remain common.
Brooklyn Sanctuary supports a greater diversity of wildlife than any other single property in Australia. It protects an incredible variety Mornington — Marion Downs is a model for conservation in northern Australia, protecting nearly 6, square kilometres of the iconic Charnley River-Artesian Range has a vital role to play in protecting and restoring the endangered wildlife of northern Australia.
The Bilby is an iconic Australian marsupial, instantly recognisable by its long pointed snout, long ears, soft grey fur and The Numbat is unique among Australian mammals. It is a highly specialised, termite eating marsupial. AWC protects Numbat populations within The Banded Hare-wallaby is the sole survivor of an ancient group of kangaroos which included the giant short-faced kangaroos. Home Wildlife Northern Quoll. Quick Facts. What is AWC doing? Threats to the species Predation by feral cats is a major threat to Northern Quolls.
Description The Northern Quoll is the smallest of the four Australian quoll species with a body length of — mm and weight of — g. It is suggested that Northern Quolls may be vulnerable to extensive frequent fires now characteristic of much of northern Australia.
In a detailed radio-tracking study undertaken before the arrival of Cane Toads, it was reported that the main cause of Northern Quoll mortality at Kapalga, Kakadu National Park, was predation in the period following extensive fire Oakwood In the Mitchell River region of the Kimberley, Northern Quolls appeared to prefer more recently burnt open areas Woinarski and colleagues found that Northern Quolls were more abundant in annually burnt sites compared with sites that had not been burnt for 23 years.
Furthermore, Woinarski and colleagues found that the annually burnt sites were in good condition compared with similar open forest elsewhere in this region and may represent an ideal early dry season burning regime. However too frequent burning can reduce the availability and abundance of prey items and intense fires can also result in the destruction or degradation of important habitat resources such as hollow trees or logs and termite mounds for denning.
Gamba Grass is a high biomass pasture grass that out-competes native grasses and increases fuel loads which promote intense, late, dry season fires Threatened Species Scientific Committee bn. Gamba Grass has fuel loads up to seven times higher than native grasses Rossiter et al. This produces fires that are eight times more intense than those produced by native grasses Rossiter-Rachor et al. These feral predators, in particular Feral Cats, may be having an impact on Northern Quoll populations either through competition for food or direct predation, and these impacts may be exacerbated after fire Oakwood Although Oakwood and Spratt found that parasitism was common in the Northern Quoll, they concluded that few individuals harboured large burdens and hence parasitism could not be viewed as a major factor contributing to the population decline of Northern Quoll in the Northern Territory.
Parasitism is therefore only viewed as a potential threat. This study concluded that there is no compelling evidence that toxoplasmosis is involved in the decline of Northern Quolls in this region. The nine main objectives of the draft Plan include: Protect Northern Quoll populations on offshore islands from invasion and establishment of Cane Toads, Cats and other potential invasive species.
Foster the recovery of Northern Quoll sub-populations in areas where the species has survived alongside Cane Toads. Halt declines in areas not yet colonised by Cane Toads. Halt declines in areas recently colonised by Cane Toads. Reduce the risk of Northern Quoll populations being impacted by disease. Reduce the impact of pastoral land management practices on Northern Quolls. Raise public awareness of the plight of Northern Quolls and the need for biosecurity of islands and Western Australia.
Some specific actions identified include continue research into the susceptibility of Quolls to Cane Toad poisoning, investigate factors causing declines in Northern Quoll populations not yet affected by Cane Toads, continue studies of whether there is a genetic basis for differences in susceptibility of Northern Quolls to Cane Toad toxins, develop and, where required, implement a strategy for rapid-response control of Cane Toad or Feral Cat outbreaks on offshore islands occupied by Northern Quolls.
O'Donnell and colleagues have trialled taste aversion in juvenile Northern Quoll, with some success. They induced an aversion to live toads in juvenile Northern Quolls by feeding them a dead toad containing a nausea-inducing chemical thiabendazole. This approach has wider applications, and could also be used to mitigate the impacts of invasive vertebrate predators on threatened fauna. When invasive predators cannot be eradicated, controlled taste aversion may provide a feasible way to maintain populations of endangered fauna in the presence of the invader.
The Threat abatement plan for the biological effects, including lethal toxic ingestion, caused by cane toads Draft DEWHA g clearly outlines that, given the absence of a potential biological control, and the limited effectiveness of physical barriers, Cane Toads will not be eradicated in Australia and will continue to spread throughout southern and western Australia.
The draft Plan identifies the importance of identifying and protecting threatened species particularly susceptible to poisoning from Cane Toads. However, there is no evidence that these endeavours have prevented the continued spread of the pest or significantly limited its impact on Australia's biodiversity.
It concludes that to date no broad-scale or biological control has been identified and it is unlikely that such a control could be developed and approved for use before the Cane Toad will have reached its maximum extent and impact DEWHA g. Recommended mitigation Best practice mitigation for the Northern Quoll follows that prescribed in the Northern Quoll workshop :.
Threats and key impacts Mitigation Habitat clearing Direct mortality Displacement Relocate the project Design the project to avoid and protect habitat critical to the survival of the species Reconfigure the project to remove threatening processes Retain movement corridors and put in place natural buffers Rehabilitate disturbed habitats Maintain habitat to reduce edge effects and monitor Avoid activities such as rock blasting or heavy machinery operation between May and November Quoll breeding.
Educate mine site personnel about Northern Quoll ecology on site Introduction of invasive species E. Cane Toads, Gamba Grass. For island developments, the staging facility should be on the mainland e. Broome, Derby, Wyndham, Darwin, Gove and Borroloola and be located at the wharf from where goods are shipped out to the site. Install a wash down facility.
The wash down facility should comprise high pressure water or steam devices. Develop and facilitate educational programs for staff and contractors about quarantine protocols and associated risks involved with invasive species. Implement a no fill policy for the life of the project e. Control and where possible eradicate weeds with a high priority for habitat-modifying weeds.
Remove and spray high priority weeds e. Gamba Grass Andropogon gayanus. Manage fuel loads of weeds to reduce risk of high fire intensity. Pastoralism Habitat degradation Inappropriate fire regimes Maintain current site conditions e. Retain and manage grazing regimes to avoid high fuel levels and high intensity dry season fires as some of the most persistent populations of Northern Quolls in Queensland are in areas that are grazed, often heavily.
Traffic Direct mortality Habitat fragmentation Retain quoll movement corridors. Control and manage traffic levels to minimise fragmentation and mortality. Educate project staff. Ensure no entry into conservation areas with signage except for necessary environmental management and monitoring. Reduce and enforce speed limits in the vicinity of Quoll habitat with signage and penalties.
Fence underpasses where appropriate to funnel movement to safer areas. Report and record road kills Inappropriate fire regimes Increased predation risk Loss of denning habitat Manage fires to reduce incidence, extent and severity to levels appropriate to retain or restore optimal Northern Quoll habitat.
In QLD, storm-burning lighting fires after the first wet season rains is the suggested burning regime for Northern Quoll. Such a regime aims to reduce the risk of high fuel accumulation and homogeneity.
Storm burning significantly reduces the risk of extensive dry season wildfire which can result in local population extinctions of Northern Quoll. Construct fire control lines to facilitate movement to control fire fronts. Educate and train staff about equipment and procedures to act on unexpected fire events. Feral animals e. Feral cats and pigs, wild dogs and cattle Direct predation Habitat degradation Competition Disease e.
Toxoplasmosis Control feral animal abundance such as feral cat and pigs and wild dog and cattle. Eradicate feral animals through localised live trapping, shooting, baiting cattle should be also be considered. Consideration should be given to limit the likelihood of baiting mortality to Quolls.
Implement and enforce a no cat and no dog policy for developments with accommodation facilities Educate and train staff and public in any no cat and dog policy and ensure signage is displayed. Remove any harbourage sites such as tips and dump sites Modify existing habitat to make it less suitable for cats e. Begg, R. The small mammals of Little Nourlangie Rock, N.
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Conservation Genetics. Cook, A. Radford, R. Mills Habitat use and home-range of the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus: effects of fire.
University of Western Australia. Cremona, T. Conservation ecology and trophic interactions of the Northern Quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus. Webb Variation of prey responses to cues from a mesopredator and an apex predator. Austral ecology. Survey guidelines for Australia's threatened mammals. EPBC Act survey guidelines 6.
Threat abatement plan for predation by the European red fox. Threat abatement plan for the biological effects, including lethal toxic ingestion, caused by cane toads DRAFT. Environment Australia EA b. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. Hernandez-Santin, L.
Fisher Introduced predators and habitat structure influence range contraction of an endangered native predator, the northern quoll. Biological Conservation. Hill, B. Ward Hohnen, R. Ashby, K. McGregor Individual identification of northern quolls Dasyurus hallucatus using remote cameras.
Australian Mammalogy. How, R. Schmitt Island populations have high conservation value for northern Australia's top marsupial predator ahead of a threatening process. Journal of Zoology. Version Kearney, M. Phillips, C. Tracy, K. Christian, G. Porter Modelling species distributions without using species distributions: the cane toad in Australia under current and future climates. McGoldrick, I.
Weipa commissions Northern Quoll surveys. Media Release. Rio Tinto Alcan. McKenzie, N. Mammals of the Phanerozoic south-west Kimberley, Western Australia: biogeography and recent changes. Journal of Biogeography. Nelson, J. Gemmell Birth in the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus Marsupialia : Dasyuridae. Australian Journal of Zoology. Northern Quoll workshop Northern Quoll workshops for the development of the referral guidelines for the Northern Quoll.
O'Donnell, S. Shine Conditioned taste aversion enhances the survival of an endangered predator imperilled by a toxic invader.
Journal of Applied Ecology. Online: British Ecological Society. Oakwood M and D. M Spratt Parasites of the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus Marsupialia: Dasyuridae in tropical savanna, Northern Territory. Oakwood, M. The ecology of the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus.
Reproduction and demography of the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus , in the lowland savanna of northern Australia. Spatial and social organization of a carnivorous marsupial, Dasyurus hallucatus. Journal of Zoology, London. The effect of cane toads on a marsupial carnivore, the northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus. A report prepared for Parks Australia North. Darwin: Department of the Environment and Heritage. Northern quoll Dasyurus hallucatus. In: Van Dyck, S.
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