The naughty nocturnal habits of quolls at a Canberra wildlife sanctuary has been caught on camera – and it’s all good news for their species!
Mulligans Flat invited one of Australia’s top wildlife photographers, Charles Davis, to capture the behaviour of the cryptic Eastern Quoll, at a time when the baby quolls were taking their first tentative steps outside their dens.
Belinda Wilson, from the Australian National University, introduced Charles to a den site she was monitoring for her research, and Charles quietly waited for them to emerge.
He captured unique images of the playful and boisterous behaviour of wild baby Eastern Quolls – including a pair of quolls getting a little frisky under the moonlight!
After being absent from the mainland of Australia for 50 years, the Eastern Quoll is making a comeback in the wild at Mulligans Flat in Canberra.
Belinda Wilson has been driving the project after the release of the first 16 individuals in 2016.
“Last year’s release saw a staggering survival rate of 92%, with at least 10 females (from that release and the year before) giving birth to up to 60 ‘quollets’,” Belinda said.
“Through our most recent round of monitoring we caught over 40 animals, which is amazing given eastern quolls are so hard to catch.”
And it’s not just the researchers who get the chance to enjoy the return of these spotty native cats. Visitors to Mulligans Flat have been spotting Quolls on the Twilight Tours as well.
Pictures: Charles Davis/Woodlands and Wetlands Trust
