Quoll Joeys Born at Aussie Ark Conservation Project

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: September 7, 2021 11:10 pm

A keeper at Aussie Ark holds one of the eastern quoll joeys born as part of their breeding program

Photo Credit: Aussie Ark

The team at Aussie Ark are celebrating another successful breeding season for the endangered eastern quoll. Located in the Barrington Tops of Australia Aussie Ark provide a home for a number of rare and threatened species.

This season the team have welcomed 28 joeys to a number of mothers. Since they became home to the eastern quoll in 2017 the sanctuary has welcomed 150 joeys.

They stepped in to bring the species back to the mainland in 2017 and in 2020 confirmed the first joeys to be born in the wild.

A number of eastern quoll joeys are seen in the pouch of their mother at Aussie Ark

Photo Credit: Aussie Ark

“It’s an exciting time of year for the whole team when we do the Eastern quoll pouch check. These creatures are so important, and they fall into a really unique niche in the ecosystem,” Aussie Ark Manager of Conservation, Hayley Shute.

She continues “Getting to see them so tiny, inside mums’ pouch is like nothing else. They’re so vulnerable at this age, it’s a special feeling knowing we are playing such an important role in their survival as a species”

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Once common on the mainland the eastern quoll went extinct over 60 years ago due to introduced predators such as the red fox and cats. Even in Tasmania the species has seen declines of 50% over recent years.

In 2020 eastern quolls first bred again on the Australian mainland at the Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary is being managed to reflect how it would have been prior to European settlement.

The success of the Eastern quoll program at Aussie Ark is only possible thanks to the ongoing support of Aussie Ark partners including Re:wild, Australian Reptile Park, Australian Geographic, WIRES, Glencore and the Foundation for Australia’s Most Endangered Species.