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Extinct since 1963, wild eastern quolls discovered in Australia Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com October 17, 2008 While it may be possible that the quolls are remnants of a long-surviving population, it is far more likely they are descendants of escapees. Mount Rothwell Conservation and Research Center near Melbourne has been breeding captive quolls since 2002. Individual quolls probably escaped from the sanctuary into the wild; most likely the quolls found recently either escaped directly from the center or are descendants of escaped quolls.
Such findings would have important consequences for Tasmania as well, since foxes have recently been introduced on the island. It is unclear whether the foxes were introduced intentionally or by mistake. Eastern quolls are nocturnal opportunists, eating everything from small animals, carrion, grass, fruit, and even garbage where it is available. While females give birth to up to thirty young, they only have teats for six causing the majority to perish. The eastern quoll is easily-distinguished from the other three Australian quoll species due to their white spotted body and white-tipped tail. The dead quoll specimens were sent to Melbourne Museum for further analysis. Story tip from Where Light Meets Dark SHARE THIS ARTICLE:
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