Felicity releases a Quoll at Mt Zero-Taravale Wildlife Sanctuary.

© Brad Leue-Australian Wildlife Conservancy

One of Australia’s most threatened native predators has been given a new foothold in north Queensland, with the first 18 Northern Quolls released into AWC’s feral predator-free fenced area at Mt Zero-Taravale Wildlife Sanctuary on Gugu Badhun Country.

The release marks the first step in a multi-year plan by Australian Wildlife Conservancy to establish a secure mainland population of Northern Quolls, protected from feral cats and other key threats, within one of northern Australia’s most important conservation safe havens. This work is supported by grant funding from the Colossal Species Reintroduction Fund, alongside donations from AWC supporters around the world.

Once widespread across northern Australia and listed as ‘Endangered’ by Australia’s EPBC Act, the Northern Quoll has experienced significant population decline since the 1930s due to a range of threats including predation by feral cats and poisoning from invasive cane toads.

“The Northern Quoll is an interesting species because while populations are persisting in Queensland, we’re seeing significant declines in parts of northern Australia,” said Dr Jennifer Anson, AWC Senior Ecologist who led the reintroduction. “The spread of cane toads across the north has compounded other threats facing the species, including predation by feral cats and inappropriate fire regimes.”

“Creating a secure population within a feral predator-free fenced area provides greater certainty for the species’ future, while increasing overall population numbers and strengthening its adaptive potential.”

Dr Andrew Pask, Colossal Chief Biology Officer, celebrated the reintroduction, saying it contributes to the recovery and rebalancing of Australia’s natural environment.

“We’re honoured to support AWC’s quoll rewilding work,” he said. “Separately, at Colossal, we’re also working towards a future where gene-edited quolls, resistant to cane toad toxin, can soon be returned to the landscape and help restore balance to Australian ecosystems.”

The reintroduction, split across two years into the 950-hectare fenced area, recently involved female quolls collected from four source populations over a six-week period, including AWC’s Brooklyn Wildlife Sanctuary and other locations in north Queensland.

A small number of individuals will be taken from each of the four populations each year, to increase genetic diversity of the new population while reducing any pressure on the source populations. Individuals will predominantly be moved after the breeding period, at a time when males experience die-off. This allows for females with pouch young to be prioritised as initial founders and maximise the successful establishment of the new population.

“We’re expecting the quoll population to grow to as many as 300 individuals within the safety of Mt Zero-Taravale Wildlife Sanctuary’s fenced area,” said Felicity L’Hotellier, AWC Senior Field Ecologist who carried out the reintroduction. “We’re creating a stronghold for the species and restoring the local ecosystem by reinstating the quoll’s ecological role as a native predator to the sanctuary.”

Prior to release at Mt Zero-Taravale Wildlife Sanctuary, all quolls were fitted with telemetry collars for post-release monitoring. AWC ecologists will also keep an eye on the population through routine cage trapping and motion sensor camera surveys across the fenced area.

Beyond the fence, AWC is expecting some of the quolls to self-release into the wider sanctuary which would provide the species with up to an additional 20,000 hectares of suitable habitat.

“At this stage, we’re just excited to see the Northern Quoll back on the Coane Range and look forward to seeing how they benefit from the safety of the sanctuary to increase their numbers,” added Felicity.

The Northern Quoll reintroduction to Mt Zero-Taravale Wildlife Sanctuary contributes to AWC’s 2035 Strategy which aims to expand the organisation’s feral predator-free haven network and increase threatened species reintroductions by 50%.

AWC also protects the Northern Quoll at multiple sanctuaries in northern Australia, including Mornington-Marion Downs and Charley River-Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuaries in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, as well as Brooklyn Wildlife Sanctuary in north Queensland. The species was also recently rediscovered at Piccaninny Plains Wildlife Sanctuary on Cape York, where it had not been detected in more than 80 years.

AWC’s Northern Quoll reintroduction was delivered through grant funding from the Colossal Species Reintroduction Fund, and donations from AWC supporters. AWC is also working collaboratively with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Traditional Owners to secure founder animals for the new population.

More information on AWC’s work with the Northern Quoll is available, here.

Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is a pragmatic, on-ground global conservation leader, conserving landscapes and providing hope for Australian wildlife. Informed by science, we deliver measurable conservation impact at scale to secure the future of our most endangered species and their habitats, including restoring degraded landscapes where necessary.

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