One of Australia’s most elusive native predators, and a species listed as threatened in NSW and endangered nationally, was brought to Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital (NRWH), where the veterinary team stepped in to assess the unexpected patient.
When WIRES rescuer Emma Laird had received the call about an animal trapped in a chicken coop in Pimlico and cornered by the resident dog, she assumed it would be a wild cat. To her surprise, it was something far more extraordinary – a spotted-tailed quoll.
‘I was absolutely perplexed when we received the call that a spotted-tailed quoll was on its way to the hospital,’ said NRWH General Manager Bronte Potts.
‘I have been working with wildlife for 19 years and had never treated a quoll until now.’
Lead vet Dr Chantal Whitten said, ‘This was a very special patient for us. He was a healthy young male in great condition, which was a very positive outcome.’
Spotted-tailed quolls are Australia’s largest carnivorous marsupial on the mainland, but their populations have declined dramatically due to habitat loss, fragmentation, rodenticide exposure and competition from introduced predators such as cats and foxes.
The rescue is particularly significant because spotted-tailed quolls are rarely seen, even in areas where they still exist. Local National Parks staff were reportedly shocked and thrilled to hear that a healthy quoll had been found in the region, with very few sightings recorded in recent decades.
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