Eastern Quoll
Eastern quolls are generally about the size of a small domestic cat, with adult males measuring 53-66 cm in total length, including the 20-28 cm tail, and having an average weight of 1.1 kg. Females are significantly smaller, measuring 48-58 cm, including a 17-24 cm tail, and weighing around 0.7 kg. They have a tapering snout, short legs, and erect ears. They can be distinguished from all other species of quoll by the presence of only four toes, rather than five, on the hind feet, lacking the hallux.
Habitat
They are largely solitary and are nocturnal and only occasionally forage or bask during daylight. It is found in a variety of habitats including rainforest, heathland, alpine areas and scrub. However, it prefers dry grassland and forest mosaics which are bounded by agricultural land, particularly where pasture grubs are common. During the day, animals sleep in nests made under rocks, in underground burrows or fallen logs.
Diet
They are an opportunistic carnivore that takes live prey and scavenges. It is an impressive hunter, taking mammals such as rabbits, mice and rats, and small elapid snakes and skinks. They sometimes scavenge morsels of food from around feeding Tasmanian Devils. However, the main component of its diet at lower altitudes is invertebrates, especially agricultural pests such as the cockchafer beetle and corbie grub. In alpine areas, invertebrates form a small component of the diet; carrion and some fruits are also eaten.
Breeding
The breeding season begins in early winter. The oestrus cycle lasts 34 days, although most individuals mate during their first cycle of the year. The female gives birth up to twenty young after a gestation period of 19 to 24 days. Of these, the first to attach themselves to the available teats will be the only survivors. The young remain attached to the teat for 60 to 65 days, begin to develop fur at around 51 days, open their eyes at about 79 days, and are fully weaned at 150 to 165 days. They reach sexual maturity in their first year, and can live for up to seven years in captivity.
Population
On the IUCN Red List they are classed as endangered and there population trend is decreasing, there is about 10,000-12,000 mature individuals. The eastern quoll likely became extinct on mainland Australia due to disease and predation by introduced predators (red fox and feral cat). The lack of foxes in Tasmania likely has contributed to the survival of the species there; however, unseasonal weather events and predation by feral cats are thought to have contributed to a possible recent decline in the Tasmanian population.
Threats
The threatening processes that caused the decline and extinction of Eastern Quoll on the Australian mainland are unknown, but disease, together with predation by introduced feral cats and Red Foxes are the most likely causes. In Tasmania, the recent decline has been linked to a sustained period of unsuitable weather conditions over much of the species' distribution. Predation by feral cats is considered the most likely process preventing the species' recovery: juveniles are vulnerable to cat predation, and cat abundance might be increasing due to the decline of the Tasmanian Devil. However, feral cats have been present in Tasmania for a long time and quolls have survived. There have been previous episodes of severe rates of mortality associated with disease that may have made a significant contribution to local extinction on the mainland; some ongoing incidence and impacts of diseases found toxoplasmosis does not appear to be contributing to recent population declines. The Red Fox recently arrived in Tasmania; if it establishes, it is likely to be a major threat through predation. Minor threats include poisoning and trapping, predation by dogs and road mortality.
Conservation
1. Maintain distribution and abundance
2. Reduce feral cat predation
3. Eradicate or effectively control Red Foxes in Tasmania.
4. Should foxes become widely established, consider captive breeding as as precursor to translocation to an island or mainland 'island'.
5. Monitoring to understand processes influencing Eastern Quoll abundance changes.