Australia's 'Native Cat' Returns to the Mainland After Being Declared Extinct for 60 Years

Sixty-three years after it was declared extinct on the Australian mainland, the eastern quoll is back — and it's raising its own young in the wild. Conservationists working in Victoria's Grampians/Gariwerd region have confirmed that a population of eastern quolls introduced to a protected pastoral property near Dunkeld is successfully breeding. Of 27 quolls captured during a recent survey, 12 males and 7 females were confirmed to have been born in the wild — a milestone that conservation manager Kai Dailey described as working 'incredibly well.' 'It's early stages, but it's fair to say it's a successful introduction, absolutely,' said Dailey. The eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) was once found across southern Australia, where it earned the nickname 'native cat' for its spotted coat and quick movements. Then the red fox arrived. Introduced to Australia in the late 19th century, foxes devastated quoll populations across the mainland. By 1963, the species was officially declared extinct there. Only a wild population in Tasmania remained. Previous attempts to reintroduce Tasmanian eastern quolls to the mainland failed — defeated by the same foxes that caused the original extinction. This time, the team behind the South-West Eastern Quoll Hub, a partnership between conservation group Nature Glenelg Trust and three local agricultural businesses, approached the problem differently. The effort traces its roots back to 2013, when work began to revegetate the pastoral land with native trees. In 2022, construction of a predator-proof fence began, coinciding with an intensive campaign to eliminate foxes from the area. Only then — with the habitat restored and the primary threat removed — were three pregnant female quolls released into a 95-hectare free-range enclosure at Mt Sturgeon near Dunkeld. Two males were added last May to increase genetic diversity. The team has since worked to maintain an almost 50-50 sex ratio in the population — a healthy balance that gives the colony the best chance of long-term survival. The results speak for themselves: wild-born quolls, thriving in a landscape their ancestors were forced out of over a century ago. Eastern quolls come in two colour variants — black and fawn — and are marsupials, carrying their young in pouches. They play an important ecological role as predators of insects and small animals, helping to keep ecosystems in balance. For Victoria, this is more than an animal coming home. It's proof that when you remove the threat, restore the habitat, and give nature a fighting chance, she takes it. 🐾