Spotted-tailed quolls back from brink of local extinction in Far North Queensland

A secretive native animal feared to have nearly vanished from Queensland's Atherton Tablelands has surprised and delighted researchers in promising numbers. Key points: The spotted-tailed quoll is the second-largest carnivorous marsupial in Australia after the Tasmanian devil The Dasyurus maculatus gracilis subspecies, which is found in north-eastern Queensland, is listed as endangered According to the Australian Conservation Foundation there are only about 14,000 spotted-tailed quolls left in the wild The spotted-tailed quoll — Dasyurus maculatus — is the second-largest carnivorous marsupial in Australia after the Tasmanian devil and there are two recognised subspecies found along eastern Australia, stretching from Queensland's far north to Tasmania. Using hidden cameras, volunteers from the Australian Quoll Conservancy have recorded more than 20 quolls at the Danbulla National Park near Lake Tinaroo. Associate Professor at James Cook University Dr Conrad Hoskin was lead author of the study in 2020 that found a worrying decline of the Spotted-tailed Quoll in Far North Queensland. Poisonous cane toads are one of the threats facing spotted-tailed quolls in Far North Queensland.