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.

Dear Environment Minister Kate Jones

After listening to your interview on the 23rd July with Annie Gaffney on Coast FM,  I added a comment which I would like to forward on to you for your urgent attention.

It is inconceivable that the protection of our endangered koala population in SEQ is obviously not a priority with our State and Federal Government.

If my observations are incorrect, then why has our Federal Government not prioritized the vulnerabilty of the koala in SEQ? And why does the State Government of Queensland’s owned corporation named Powerlink plan to ravage healthy koala habitat with their proposed Woolooga to Eerwah Vale high voltage transmission line and sub-station project?

Kate Jones, as Queensland Minister for the Environment, we ask that you prioritize the protection of koala habitat and include this area in your detailed koala habitat mapping as a priority.

The Powerlink project is definitely not ‘urgent infrastructure’ and if the government argues otherwise, then there are alternative routes that do not run through significant flora and fauna areas and there are other options which are in keeping with 21st century technology.

The koala is not only the 4th recognizable species in the world, it not only brings over $2.5 billion dollars into Australia for Tourism each year, but most importantly, the koala is unique to Australia and we have the moral obligation to care for its healthy future.

To be told that the koala will be extinct by 2010 because of development, this should definitely be placed on a list called ‘government catastrophes.’

Now it is up to you Kate Jones MP, to save our koala.

Thank you
Zac Rogers

Deborah Tabart from the The Australian Koala Foundation says there are only 4000 koalas left in Queensland and she has some concerns about whether the policy has any real meaning.

Click here to hear what Deborah told Annie Gaffney.

Recordings on this page also include:

• Simon Baltais – the State President for the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland – has a lot to say about how koalas are faring in south east Queensland, and
• Kate Jones – the Queensland Minister for the Environment. She was asked how she plans to bring the SE Queensland koala back from the brink of extinction.

And read other concerned people’s comments.

This is essential listening.

Source:  ABC Sunshine Coast radio

Look out for the Northern Quoll and the Spotted Tail Quoll and let us know of any sightings or evidence of these endangered species.
Note: the Northern Quoll does not have a spotted tail and is smaller than the Spotted Tail Quoll.

Spotted Tail quoll

The following information is from the Queensland Govt. Environmental Protection Agency website – reproduced with thanks (http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/nature_conservation/wildlife/threatened_plants_and_animals/endangered/queenslands_quolls/)

Northern Quoll

Scientific name: Dasyurus hallucatus (Dasy = hairy; urus = tail; hallucatus = refers to the presence of a hallux or big toe on the hind foot)
Animal group: Marsupial carnivores
Description:
Head–body length: 123–310mm (males); 125–300mm (females)
Tail length: 127–308 mm (males); 200–300 mm (females)
Weight: 400–900 g (males); 300–500 g (females)

Habitat and distribution

Their distribution ranges over northern Australia including the northern and eastern half of Queensland. The present distribution of the northern quoll has contracted throughout its former range and in Queensland it is now fragmented into a number of populations with the highest densities found in Cape York, the Atherton Tablelands and the Mackay–Whitsunday area.

Northern quoll

Occasionally there are records of northern quolls as far south as Maleny on the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

Behaviour and reproduction

Females lack a pouch but the area develops around the six or eight teats, creating a flap of skin that helps to contain the young. The young are born in July after a short gestation period of just less than a month and are carried by the mother for another eight to ten weeks. After this time the young detach from the teats and are suckled in a nest until they are five months old. Up to one-third of a litter may die during this period. The surviving young have been observed still suckling from the mother on a stretched teat while clinging to her back.

Threatening processes

Habitat destruction for agriculture and urban development is the main threat facing the northern quoll. The fragmentation of its habitat then exposes it to a range of other threats ranging from vehicle mortality and predation by feral animals to poisoning by cane toads.

Recovery actions

There is a need to raise community awareness about northern quolls to ensure that they receive greater protection outside protected areas. In particular, landholders need to be encouraged to protect these animals on private land through habitat protection and responsible pet management. Building quoll-proof poultry yards will ensure that quolls are no longer a problem to poultry.