Last chance effort to protect a fierce but fragile icon species

The Spot-tailed Quoll – also known as the Tiger Quoll – is one of Australia’s most extraordinary predators. Yet despite its ecological importance, this fierce, secretive marsupial is now listed as Endangered under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and Victoria’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.

Once widespread across Victoria, the species has suffered a dramatic decline since European settlement. Hunting, habitat loss, and predation by feral animals have reduced Spot-tailed Quoll numbers by more than 50%. Today, the Upper Snowy River region in Gippsland is the species’ last stronghold in the state – but even here, the population continues to fall.

In 2024, that trajectory sparked action. A network of government and non-government organisations – including the Rendere Environmental Trust, First Nations communities, ecologists, geneticists and dedicated quoll champions – united to apply for a Victorian Government Nature Fund grant supporting a multi-agency recovery effort.

Auspiced and mentored by BioDiversity Legacy and led by Wildlife Unlimited, the Spot-tailed Quoll Recovery Program is now underway. Researchers are venturing deep into the rugged wilds of East Gippsland, gathering critical data on quoll numbers, movements and habitat needs. Their mission is clear: understand what is driving the decline, determine what it will take to halt it, and ultimately return quolls to the Country they once thrived on.

A key component of the program involves genetic assessments of both wild and captive individuals—work that will guide the development of a robust captive-breeding and translocation strategy in collaboration with Odonata’s Mt Rothwell team.

On the ground, Wildlife Unlimited field teams are trekking remote ridgelines and river valleys, deploying camera traps, studying behaviour and collecting genetic material to piece together the story of surviving quolls.

It’s painstaking work – but it’s infused with hope. Every footprint, every image, every genetic sample helps chart a path toward recovery for one of Australia’s most charismatic and imperilled species. Read more here.

The secretive quoll is investigating the hay nets used for luring the rare Rock-wallaby. Images with thanks to the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Change.