Australian QuollsChitika While most of marsupial animals are herbivores, quolls (aka Dasyurides) are carnivorous animals. They are closely related to another carnivorous marsupial - Australian Tasmanian Devil, and some species are just like Tasmanian devils themselves, restricted to Tasmania since introduced animals such as red foxes and dingos have killed their populations in mainland Australia. Dasyurides are nocturnal predators and great opportunists. They eat fruit, insects, reptiles, birds and small mammals. The young are small like a grain of rice when they are born two to three weeks after fertilisation. Like in other marsupial animals, they live in their mother’s pouch for about 10 weeks, then in a burrow for another five months after which they are independent. They can breed once they are one year old, and in some species the male will feed the female while she’s looking after the young. Quoll populations have decreased drastically since Europeans introduced red foxes, cats and dogs in Australia. Cane toads, another exotic species are poisonous and kill quolls when they eat them. There are four species of Dasyurides in Australia: Spotted Tailed Quoll, aka Tiger Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) is the largest carnivorous mammal on mainland Australia. It has got a stocky body, weights up to 7kg and has a temporary pouch. It lives up to 4-5 years, and its population is restricted to parts of New South Wales, Tasmania and north Queensland, where it is endangered. Western Quoll (Dasyurus geoffroii), once wide-spread in arid and semiarid Australia, is now restricted to the south-western corner of Western Australia. It lives for three years and with about 6000 individuals left today, the species is endangered. Northern Quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) is found in parts of northern Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia, and is threatened by the poisonous cane toads. It is the smallest and most aggressive species of quolls. It lives 1-3 years, and the species is endangered. Eastern Quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) hasn’t been seen on the mainland Australia since 1963, but is found in Tasmania. It lives up to five years and its popuations in Tasmania are secure. Looking for anything?  Custom Search
Custom Search Translate this page to your own language! NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.  Home | Site Map | Site Policies | About Us | Our Friends| Contact Us |
