The answer to yesterday’s “What is the Species?” is an eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus). The one in the photo above is a darker phase than the one in the photo that asked the question.
There are several species of quoll– the New Guinea quoll, the bronze quoll. the western quoll, the northern quoll, and the tiger quoll. Quolls are sometimes referred to as “native cats” or “marsupial martens.” I find the latter to be a more accurate description of their ecological niche and appearance.
The eastern quoll once lived in Eastern Australia and Tasmania. Today, its thought to exist only in Tasmania. Apparently, it could not survive competition with and predation from feral cats and then succumbed to predation by foxes. It was also widely poisoned because it was viewed to be threat to poultry. It tends to live in areas very close to farming enterprises, so it is possible that the quoll took the odd chicken. It is also possible that all of these pressures combined with a disease that finally extirpated them from the mainland.
A mainland population may still exist, but if it does, it is very small and fragmented. The most recent sighting of the mainland eastern quoll was in 2006, so it is worth exploring to see if they are still out there.
