Western quoll

Species of marsupial

The western quoll (Dasyurus geoffroii) is Western Australia's largest endemic mammalian carnivore. One of the many marsupial mammals native to Australia, it is also known as the chuditch. The species is currently classed as near threatened.

The western quoll is a member of the family Dasyuridae and is most closely related to the bronze quoll (Dasyurus spartacus), a recently described species from New Guinea that was for some time believed to be an outlying population of the western quoll. Its species name, geoffroii, refers to the prominent French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, who named the genus Dasyurus in 1796. The species has occasionally been placed in the genus Dasyurinus. chuditch serves as both the singular and plural form. Other common names include atyelpe or chilpa (from Arrernte), kuninka (from Western Desert language); idnya (Adnyamathanha people of the Flinders Ranges) and the archaic western native cat.

The western quoll is about the size of a domestic cat. It is coloured a rufous brown and has 40–70 white spots on its back with a creamy white underside. Its spots help diminish its outline under moonlight at night when hunting. It has five toes on its hind feet and granular pads. The head and body are about in length, and the tail is around With large eyes and pointed ears,

A solitary, mostly terrestrial nocturnal predator, the western quoll is most active around dusk (crepuscular) when it hunts. It moves swiftly on the ground, climbs efficiently, and may dig or occupy existing burrows. During the day it seeks refuge in hollow logs or earth burrows as dens, and saves energy by lowering its body temperature in its sleep. The western quoll is at the top of the food chain, and depends on resource abundance and a healthy ecosystem. and burrowing bettongs. They hunt mostly on the ground, but will climb a tree to grab a bird's egg. A bite to the back of the head kills their larger prey. It possesses an ability to obtain most of its water from its food, which is especially handy for survival during a drought. During this time, the western quoll tends to take up large areas of habitat, and females aggressively defend their territory of 55 120 ha. A five year trial re introduction of western quoll to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia began in April 2014. as of 2016, a final release of 15 quolls from Western Australia was carried out in the Flinders Ranges, with a total population of 150. About half of this population was born locally. Monitoring of the population continued for an additional two years. The success of the reintroduction led to relocation of animals from the initial site in the Ikara–Flinders Ranges National Park to the Vulkathunha Gammon Ranges National Park in 2022 and 2023. The species has been returned to the South Australian arid zone, with a population established at the fenced Arid Recovery Reserve near Roxby Downs. Animals were reintroduced to the semi arid Mount Gibson Sanctuary in WA in April 2023, with the aid of feral predator control. Plans are in process to reintroduce the species to Dirk Hartog Island in Shark Bay, Wardang Island as part of the Marna Banggara (formerly Great Southern Ark) project on the southern Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, and large fenced reserves in the Pilliga Forest, Mallee Cliffs National Park and Sturt National Park, all in NSW. Captive breeding programs have contributed to reintroduction efforts, with Perth Zoo providing some animals for release.