Eastern Quoll Hub update – some playful young quolls are enjoying their new home in SW Victoria!
It has been several months since our last update from the South West (Vic) Eastern Quoll Hub back in March, so we have a couple of interesting updates to share!
First of all, the three eastern quolls released into Rhynie Pastoral’s free-ranging enclosure (Shepherds Hut Sanctuary) back in March have now settled in to their new environment. Jack Tucker from Rhynie Pastoral says that the quolls are well and truly familiar with the entire fenced area, as they have been seen throughout it. Anecdotally they also appear to have changed their behaviour with the more time that passes. Early on when spotlighting, Jack, Celia and family would readily see them, however this is now much less, and when they do, the quolls are quick to disappear down a rabbit hole or other cover. Given that these animals were previously housed in a small captive breeding facility, where regular interactions with humans was unavoidable, this reversion to more flighty, wild behaviour is a positive thing!
In some other exciting news, the successful eradication of feral predators earlier this year within Dunkeld Pastoral Co.’s free-ranging enclosure at Mt Sturgeon, led to the successful release of three female quolls, each with six pouch young, on a cold July evening into their new home. These founding animals have been monitored regularly since using camera traps, and Dunkeld Pastoral have recently been thrilled to report seeing the young quolls venturing out from their dens. This corresponds with weaning and the phase in their life-cycle when the youngsters start to become independent. The young quolls are now also regularly observed during spotlighting checks and they are foraging far and wide in the 95 hectare enclosure.
The video here shows a group of the young quolls, likely from the same litter, gambolling and playing with one another. It’s great to see them looking so healthy and happy!
With two of our four SWEQ Hub partners now hosting eastern quolls within their free-ranging enclosures, our collective plan and vision for quolls in SW Victoria is now well underway. As the next Hub site on the list, we are also looking forward to seeing the species reintroduced over the coming years into NGT’s fenced area at Mt Vandyke.
So stay tuned, as we have more good news to look forward to!
The South West (Vic) Eastern Quoll (SWEQ) Hub is a partnership between
Nature Glenelg Trust, Dunkeld Pastoral Co., Rhynie Pastoral and Mirridong Food and Fibre.
