Wildlife officials in New South Wales are keeping tabs on a rare predator’s unusual choice of abode.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported in late October that a spotted-tailed quoll had been, well, spotted by concerned residents near Coffs Harbor, a marina in Coffs Creek. Normally found in forests, locals called the authorities to keep the unexpected guest safe.
“It’s definitely odd … for [the quoll] to travel from the bush, across dangerous roads, running down the breakwall there,” wildlife carer Michael Sallustio told ABC.
Also known as the tiger quoll, the spotted-tail quoll is the second-largest carnivorous marsupial in Australia, second only to the Tasmanian devil. Despite its name, the animal sports spots rather than stripes, which provide useful camouflage under the moonlight for the generally nocturnal creature.
Like the Tasmanian devil, the tiger quoll has an extremely powerful bite that allows it to take down prey twice its own weight. On a pound-for-pound basis, it’s the second-strongest of any predatory mammal in the world.
Tiger quolls fulfill an important role in the ecosystem as predators and as scavengers. They keep prey populations such as bandicoots, possums, and wallabies under control, and they act as carrion clean-up crews, preventing the spread of disease. According to the Great Eastern Ranges organization, the quolls can travel several kilometers in a single night in search of food, and males can have a range of up to 3,000 hectares.
Unfortunately, the quoll’s numbers have dropped significantly due to habitat destruction from land clearance and logging, as well as predation by introduced species, according to the World Wildlife Fund of Australia. Their story underscores how valuable it is to capture footage of rare animals. The insights gained by the officials of this unusual visitor could be of great use to local efforts to reintroduce quolls in the area.
Some locals believe the quoll’s ability to travel between Coffs Creek and the harbor is thanks to the botanical gardens in the middle of the city. Urban greenery has several benefits, which include providing habitats for wildlife to thrive in the midst of urban areas.
As Glen Storrie of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service told ABC, “This is not only a celebration of having a quoll, but also having natural areas right in the middle of the city.”
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