Spotted-tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) lives in eastern Australian forests across Eastern Australia and Tasmania. Its conservation status is Near Threatened.
Fascinating facts about the Spotted-tailed Quoll
- At up to 8.85 kg, the tiger quoll rivals a small dog, yet its body fits on a kitchen counter. Males average 3.5 kg and females 1.8 kg, making it the world's second-largest carnivorous marsupial. Adults stretch 930 mm long for males and 811 mm for females, with a tail as long as the rest of the body. Despite that size, its bite packs a punch, 153 N of force, the second-strongest bite-to-body-size among living mammals, letting it snap skulls or necks in a single snap. This raw power lets the quoll tackle prey as big as wombats, securing food in fragmented forests where meals are scarce.
- A tiger quoll's menu reads like a pantry of the Australian bush: small mammals, insects, birds, domestic poultry and even wombats. It hunts live prey, delivering a killing bite to the skull base or neck, but will scavenge carrion when the chance arises. On the mainland, feral rabbits dominate its diet, making up 76 % of meals in one study.
- The IUCN lists the tiger quoll as Near-Threatened, with only about 14,000 mature individuals left worldwide as of 2018. Habitat loss is its biggest killer, in south-east Queensland only 30 % of its original forest remains. Fragmentation forces quolls into tiny pockets, raising competition with foxes, cats and dogs, and shortening their already brief 2-5-year wild lifespan. Protecting corridors and limiting 1080 baiting are being used to keep this top predator from vanishing.
- The quoll only shows up where rain tops 600 mm a year and the ground sits at least 600 m above sea level. It favors humid rainforests and closed eucalypt woodlands, but will also wander into dry sclerophyll and riparian zones when needed.
- Male tiger quolls roam territories as large as 875 ha (2,160 ac), while females defend just 90-188 ha (220-460 ac). To find food they trek 3-5 km (1.9-3.1 mi) each day.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeEastern Australia and Tasmania
HabitatEastern Australian forests
DietSmall mammals birds
About the Spotted-tailed Quoll
In the shadowy depths of Australia's eastern forests, the Spotted-tailed Quoll prowls with stealthy precision, its tawny coat blending seamlessly into the dappled underbrush as it stalks its nocturnal prey. With eyes aglow like lanterns in the dark, this elusive marsupial navigates its realm with a silent, ghostly ease, its very presence a whispered rumor among the trees. As it pads through the forest, its spotted tail twitching like a metronome, the Quoll embodies a wild, unbridled spirit that has captivated the hearts of all who have been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of it.
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