Three hours west of Melbourne, Australia, six baby eastern quolls are thriving in a Dunkeld Pastoral Co breeding program. With shiny black fur and white spots, the quoll babies are still quite small. Conservation Manager Hayley Glover introduces the endangered marsupials in this ABC Australia video: Baby eastern quolls born in captivity give hope for extinction reversal.
Quolls have been extinct in the wild of Australia’s mainland since the 1950s, and are now only found in Tasmania:
“There were over 400 indigenous Australian names for quolls, but when Australia was colonized, they were deemed native cats and treated as a pest species. They were hunted with the goal of eradication because they are carnivorous and love to eat chickens. The irony is that quolls are one of the best hunters of rabbits, and so in many ways a farmer’s friend.”
The team hopes to help reintroduce a genetically diverse population of quolls back into the Victoria landscape.
Watch more marsupial videos on TKSST:
• Up close with Gem the common wombat
• Bilby conservation at the Taronga Zoo
• A tiny newborn kangaroo climbs into its mother’s pouch
• Baby Koala: A Joey moves in its pouch at the Taipei Zoo
• ‘Quokka selfie’ rules that help keep quokkas safe and healthy
Bonus cute: Baby meerkats scamper and explore at the Symbio Wildlife Park.
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