Eastern Quoll

Habitat & Range

Eastern quolls were once found across much of south-eastern mainland Australia, but disappeared from the mainland during the twentieth century. Today, their main naturally occurring population survives in Tasmania.

In Tasmania they can occupy a variety of habitats, including grasslands, farmland, woodland, dry forest, coastal scrub and alpine areas. They often use areas that provide both good ground cover and suitable places to shelter.

What's on the Menu?

Eastern quolls are opportunistic carnivores. Their diet can include insects, spiders, small mammals, birds, reptiles and carrion.

What they eat can change depending on the season and what food is available. Their varied diet allows them to take advantage of many different food sources within their environment.

Amazing Adaptations

Eastern quolls have excellent senses of smell and hearing, helping them locate prey while moving through the landscape at night.

Their compact bodies and agile movements allow them to search through grasslands, forests and rocky areas for food.

Eastern quolls occur naturally in two main colour forms: fawn and black. Both colour forms have distinctive white spots across the body, but unlike the spotted-tailed quoll, the spots do not continue along the tail.

Behaviour

Eastern quolls are primarily nocturnal and spend much of the daylight hours sheltering in dens. Dens may be located among rocks, logs, vegetation or other protected spaces.

They are generally solitary animals and emerge at night to forage. Individuals can travel considerable distances while searching for food.

Conservation & Threats

The Eastern quoll is listed as Endangered under Australian national environmental law. Although Tasmania remains the species' stronghold, protecting healthy Tasmanian populations is important for the species' long-term future.

Threats can include habitat loss and fragmentation, road mortality, predation and competition from introduced species, disease and severe environmental events.