Quolls reintroduced to mainland after extinction »

ANU is helping the eastern quoll make a comeback to mainland Australia after its disappearance more than 50 years ago. Professor Adrian Manning from the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society leads the team that has released a new generation of wild eastern quolls from Tasmania, the only area the animals can be found in the wild, into the Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary in Canberra. "This is the first translocation of wild eastern quolls directly into a free ranging situation on the Australian mainland," Professor Manning said. "Our aim is not just to establish a healthy and diverse population of eastern quolls but also undertake critical research to understand the best way to introduce the species to improve success in future reintroductions on the mainland." The eastern quoll, a small carnivorous marsupial, was once widespread in south-eastern Australia. Its extinction can be attributed to habitat loss, foxes and cats, disease, accidental poisoning and deliberate persecution by humans. The last recorded sighting of an eastern quoll in the Sydney region was in 1963. Its absence in the Canberra region is closer to 80 years.