The following Nature Notes, Quolls by Helen Hepburn, was published in the Eumundi Green on 16th Sept 2010:

An amazing thing happened on the outskirts of Eumundi/Cooroy recently with the body of a
Tiger Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) being reported to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre by a truck
driver. Col Brownhill confirmed that the body was indeed a quoll. The interesting thing, however, is that
these creatures have become very rare in these parts over the years.

Before settlement, quolls lived solitary lives in a broad range of habitats from rainforest to wet and
dry sclerophyll forests and down to the coastal dunes. With the arrival of settlers, these animals were
hunted down as they found chooks quite an easy and tasty morsel. Clearing and fragmentation of their
habitat, the introduction of animals such as foxes and feral cats, and the distribution of 1080 poison,
spelt disaster for them. The final straw came with the release of cane toads.

Scott Burnett from the Quoll Seekers Network has kindly sent me these photos to use. I am
appealing to our readers to alert me as to whether they have seen such an animal either at their
homes, farms or even crossing roads. Here is what to look for:

• About the size of a domestic cat– but with longer body and shorter legs.

• Coarse fur of a russet colour, darker along the back

• Spots. It’s really the spots that are the giveaway. They could be large or small spots and there could be a few or lots.

• Quolls are now our largest marsupial carnivore on the mainland and they desperately need help. They were once a part of the biodiversity of our region.

• They are nocturnal and can climb trees in their search for food.

• There is a more northerly variety – The Northern Quoll that is much smaller and lacks the spotting onthe tail, but just might find its way this far south.

• They sleep in a den and this could be a tree hollow, rock crevice or hollow log.

• Each quoll needs a huge territory covering some 500ha (depending on food supply), so vast tractsof bush are needed to support a healthy population. They only live for approximately three years.

If you think you have seen a quoll recently, please contact Eumundi Green by email or phone and Joyce
will send details along the line.
Even a road kill is important.
Even dead animals have a story to tell and much can be learnt from them.

In Queensland the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly (RBB) in classified as vulnerable and their food plants the Pararisolochia praevenosa are currently listed as rare and in decline and the habitats are becoming more fragmented and the previous prolonged drought exacerbated the decline. There is an exotic species the Dutchman’s Pipe Vine that attracts the RBB to lay eggs on it, but poisons the caterpillars after they emerge and feed on the leaves.

I have a handbook on the butterfly if anyone is interested. The butterflies wingspan is about 11 cms. It is green and black on the top the wings with a yellow abdomen and black thorax. The underwings are yellow, black and green with a red spot on the thorax – not easy to describe.

Eva Ford from the Mary River Catchment Co-Ordinating Committee (MRCCC) reports that the current known line of healthy breeding populations occur roughly from Cooroy through Belli Park to Kenilworth and Conondale. To the south populations seem to be secure. To the north between Gympie and Kenilworth there seem to be no records. Landcare are doing a lot of work in this area planting vines to reestablish the butterflies.

Coxen's Fig Parrott

It is an attractive,  small predominantly green parrot whose seemingly overlarge head and bill, together with an extremely short tail give it a somewhat dumpy top heavy appearance resembling an exotic lovebird. It attains a length of 16 cms. Both sexes are rich green above and yellowish green below with a yellow sided upper breast and flanks. CFP have been sighted in this area at Kenilworth 1997.

The flight call of CFP is a short clipped two note call. Variously described as a loud high pitched metallic ‘zeet zeet’.

Ian Gynther from QLD Parks and Wildlife is confident they could well be here in an isolated patch of forest. They are omnivors and feed mainly on seeds of near ripe or ripe fruits of native figs and or insect larvae. Favoured species are the Moreton Bay Fig, Strangler Fig various other figs as well as various Syzygium species, blue quandong, red ash, silky oak and other fruiting trees in agricultural areas. They are thought to nest in high trees usually within or near the edge of rainforest. The nest chamber is excavated on the underside of a dead or decaying limb or trunk in a living or dead tree.

Northern Quoll	Spotted tail quoll

Northern quoll

The northern quoll is the smallest of the quolls and varies from grey-brown to brown in colour with large white patches on its body (no white patches on its tail). Its chest and belly are cream or white in colour. It has a pointed face similar to many of the smaller marsupial carnivores. It can be distinguished from the other quolls by its small size, unspotted tail and the clearly striated (ridged) pads on its hind feet with 5 toes that assist in climbing.

The northern quoll lives in a range of open woodland and open forest types preferring rocky areas. Its greatest breeding success is known to occur at sites near water. It is nocturnal and equally at home on the ground or when climbing in trees.  It shelters in tree hollows and feeds on a variety of prey ranging from insects and reptiles to small mammals and even fruit. It is known to be aggressive in behaviour when disturbed. Adults become sexually mature at 12 months and live for two to three years.

Spotted tail quoll

The spotted-tailed quoll ranges in colour from rich-brown to dark brown with white spots of varying size scattered over both the body and the tail. The fur on the underside is paler. The head has a distinctive pink-red nose and short rounded ears that just extend above the outline of the head. In size it is similar to a cat but with a more elongated body and shorter legs. When moving quickly it bounds and it is also an agile climber. It is known for its yawning gape – like the Tasmanian devil. When threatened it opens its jaws widely and gives a piercing scream. It is also vocal when looking for a mate or when another quoll is in its territory.

The spotted-tailed quoll is usually nocturnal and solitary. It eats a range of animals either as prey or carrion, including insects, reptiles, birds and mammals up the size of a small wallaby. It is also known for killing chickens. It kills all of the birds present instead of just catching and eating one.

Quolls are territorial with overlapping home ranges. The home ranges of individuals vary from 100-200 ha for the northern to 580 ha for the spotted-tailed. Communal latrine sites can be found where these home ranges overlap and they advertise its territory and its readiness to mate. Being a secretive animal it is more likely to be discovered from the tracks and scats that it leaves behind.

Tracking quolls