{{Short description|Species of marsupial}} {{Use Australian English|date=September 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Speciesbox | name = Western quoll<ref>{{MSW3 Groves|pages=25}}</ref> | image = Chuditch at Caversham Wildlife Park.png | image_caption = A western quoll at Caversham Wildlife Park, Western Australia | status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Woinarski, J. |author2=Burbidge, A.A. |date=2019 |title=''Dasyurus geoffroii'' |volume=2019 |article-number=e.T6294A21947461 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T6294A21947461.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = VU | status2_system = EPBC | status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=330 |title = Dasyurus geoffroii — Chuditch, Western Quoll | publisher=Australian Government - Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water | access-date=7 September 2025}}</ref> | genus = Dasyurus | species = geoffroii | authority = Gould, 1841 | range_map = Western Quoll Range.JPG | range_map_caption = Western quoll range }}
The '''western quoll''' ('''''Dasyurus geoffroii''''') is Western Australia's largest endemic mammalian carnivore.<ref name="Australian Wildlife Conservancy">{{Cite web|title = Australian Wildlife Conservancy|url = http://www.australianwildlife.org/wildlife/western-quoll-chuditch.aspx|website = www.australianwildlife.org|access-date = 2016-02-22}}</ref> One of the many marsupial mammals native to Australia, it is also known as the '''chuditch'''. The species is currently classed as near-threatened.
==Taxonomy== The western quoll is a member of the family Dasyuridae and is most closely related to the bronze quoll (''Dasyurus spartacus''), a recently described species from New Guinea that was for some time believed to be an outlying population of the western quoll. Its species name, ''geoffroii'', refers to the prominent French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, who named the genus ''Dasyurus'' in 1796. The species has occasionally been placed in the genus ''Dasyurinus''.<ref name="Strahan" />
It is also known as the chuditch ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|ʊ|d|ɪ|tʃ}}) in Western Australia (from Noongar {{Lang|nys|djooditj}});<ref>{{cite book|first=Bernard|last=Rooney|year=2011|title=Nyoongar Dictionary|publisher=Batchelor Press|page=20|isbn=978-1-74131-233-1}}</ref> ''chuditch'' serves as both the singular and plural form. Other common names include ''atyelpe'' or ''chilpa'' (from Arrernte),<ref>{{cite book|first1=John|last1=Henderson|first2=Veronica|last2=Henderson|year=1994|title=Eastern and Central Arrernte to English Dictionary|publisher=IAD Press|page=326|isbn=0-949659-74-6}}</ref> ''kuninka'' (from Western Desert language);<ref>{{cite book|first=Cliff|last=Goddard|year=1996|title=Pitjantjatjara/Yakunytjatjara to English Dictionary|publisher=IAD Press|page=48|isbn=0-949659-91-6}}</ref> ''idnya'' (Adnyamathanha people of the Flinders Ranges)<ref name="Landline20140426">{{cite web | last = Staight | first = Kerry | title = Helping Hand | work = Landline | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date = 26 April 2014 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/landline/old-site/content/2014/s3992629.htm | access-date = 28 December 2018 }}</ref> and the archaic western native cat.
==Description==
The western quoll is about the size of a domestic cat. It is coloured a rufous brown and has 40–70 white spots on its back with a creamy white underside. Its spots help diminish its outline under moonlight at night when hunting.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Chuditch|url = http://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/animals-plants/australia/nocturnal-house/chuditch/|website = perthzoo.wa.gov.au|access-date = 2016-02-22|archive-date = 2016-11-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161112162932/http://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/animals-plants/australia/nocturnal-house/chuditch/}}</ref> It has five toes on its hind feet and granular pads.<ref name=Strahan>{{Cite book|last1=Serena|first1=M.|last2=Soderquist|first2=T.|year=1995|editor-last=Strahan|editor-first=Ronald|contribution=Western Quoll|title=The Mammals of Australia|publisher=Reed Books|pages=62–64}}</ref> The head and body are about {{Convert|36 to 46|cm|abbr=on}} in length, and the tail is around {{Convert|22 to 30|cm|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Dasyurus geoffroii western quoll">{{Cite web|title = Dasyurus geoffroii (western quoll)|url = http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dasyurus_geoffroii/|website = Animal Diversity Web|access-date = 2016-02-22}}</ref> With large eyes and pointed ears,<ref name="Dasyurus geoffroii western quoll"/> it is well adapted for nocturnal life. The black brush on its tail extends from halfway down to the tip. Males typically weigh around {{Convert|1.3|kg|abbr=on}}, and females {{Convert|0.9|kg|abbr=on}}. The longest they are likely to live is four years.<ref name="Australian Wildlife Conservancy"/>
Often confused with eastern quoll, it differs in possessing a first toe on the hind foot and a darker tail. It does share a white-spotted brown coat and a long tail with both the eastern quoll and northern quoll.
==Habitat== Once found across 70% of the Australian continent, the western quoll is now confined to south-western corner of Western Australia. This perhaps was due to European settlement in the late 1780s as their range dramatically declined after this event.<ref name="Australian Wildlife Conservancy"/> It currently inhabits wet and dry sclerophyll forests, including contiguous Jarrah Forest and mallee.<ref name="Menkhorst" /> These areas consist of open forest, low open forest, woodland, and open shrub.<ref name="Dasyurus geoffroii western quoll"/> On occasion they are recorded in the WA Wheatbelt and Goldfields regions, and by the 1930s disappeared completely from Swan Coastal Plain and surrounds.<ref name="Australian Wildlife Conservancy"/>
As a result of its carnivorous feeding habits, the western quoll has a large home range. These territories often share rock ledges and other open spaces. This serves to mark territory and for other social functions. Males spread out over about {{Convert|15|km2|abbr=}} and typically overlap with several female ranges, about {{Convert|3-4|km2|abbr=}} each. Although males share their large territories with smaller female territories, females do not cross theirs with other females. Most female home ranges contains around 70 hollow log dens and 110 burrows.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Chuditch videos, photos and facts - Dasyurus geoffroii|url = http://www.arkive.org/chuditch/dasyurus-geoffroii/|website = ARKive|access-date = 2016-02-22|language = en-GB|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092207/http://www.arkive.org/chuditch/dasyurus-geoffroii/|archive-date = 2016-03-04}}</ref>
==Behaviour== A solitary, mostly terrestrial nocturnal predator, the western quoll is most active around dusk (crepuscular) when it hunts. It moves swiftly on the ground, climbs efficiently, and may dig or occupy existing burrows. During the day it seeks refuge in hollow logs or earth burrows as dens,<ref name="fame.org.au">{{Cite web|title = Returning the Western Quoll to arid zone area benefits entire ecosystem {{!}} FAME|url = http://fame.org.au/news_resources/endangered_species/western-quoll|website = fame.org.au|access-date = 2016-02-22|archive-date = 2017-02-15|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170215164952/http://fame.org.au/news_resources/endangered_species/western-quoll}}</ref> and saves energy by lowering its body temperature in its sleep.<ref name="alicespringsdesertpark.com.au">{{Cite web|title = Western Quoll - Mammals - Nature Notes - Alice Springs Desert Park|url = http://www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au/kids/nature/mammals/quoll.shtml|website = www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au|access-date = 2016-02-22|archive-date = 2018-03-26|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180326222259/http://www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au/kids/nature/mammals/quoll.shtml}}</ref>
The western quoll is at the top of the food chain, and depends on resource abundance and a healthy ecosystem.<ref name="fame.org.au"/> Being a carnivore, the western quoll feeds on large invertebrates and any small animal it can. This includes lizards, birds, frogs, spiders, insects, and small mammals; the largest it will eat is the size of a bandicoot or parrot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}
Reintroduced populations in South Australia have been recorded preying on rabbits<ref>{{Cite web|last=AWPC|title=feral rabbits – Australian Wildlife Protection Council|url=https://awpc.org.au/tag/feral-rabbits/|access-date=2020-09-01|language=en-US|archive-date=2023-04-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407173545/https://awpc.org.au/tag/feral-rabbits/}}</ref> and burrowing bettongs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=West|first1=R. S.|last2=Tilley|first2=L.|last3=Moseby|first3=K. E.|date=2019-10-16|title=A trial reintroduction of the western quoll to a fenced conservation reserve: implications of returning native predators|url=https://www.publish.csiro.au/am/AM19041|journal=Australian Mammalogy|volume=42|issue=3|page=257|language=en|doi=10.1071/AM19041|issn=1836-7402|doi-access=free}}</ref>
They hunt mostly on the ground, but will climb a tree to grab a bird's egg. A bite to the back of the head kills their larger prey. It possesses an ability to obtain most of its water from its food, which is especially handy for survival during a drought.<ref name="fame.org.au" />
As seasonal breeders, western quolls mate between late April to July, and have a peak in June.<ref name="Menkhorst">{{cite book|first=Peter|last=Menkhorst|year=2001|title=A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=48}}</ref> During this time, the western quoll tends to take up large areas of habitat, and females aggressively defend their territory of 55–120 ha.<ref name="alicespringsdesertpark.com.au"/> Male and female quolls meet up only to mate. Although there are occasional cases when more young are produced than can be nursed, most litters range from two to six. There is a gestational period of 16 to 23 days which is followed by the young living in their mother's shallow pouch. After another seven to fifteen weeks, the young outgrow the pouch and are left in the den while the female forages for food. Weaned at 23 to 24 weeks, western quoll are independent at 18 weeks and are sexually mature at one year of age. The young disperse in November before taking up their own territories.<ref name="Dasyurus geoffroii western quoll"/>
==Cultural significance== The western quoll is known as '''tjilpa''' amongst the Arrernte language group of Australian Aboriginal people.<ref>{{Citation|author1=Gill|first=Sam D.|title=Storytracking: Texts, stories & histories in Central Australia|year=1998 |page=11|publication-date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-511587-1}}</ref> There are many Dreamtime stories of tribes of ancestral Tjilpa-men, who had a significant mythological role. The geographical range of these stories includes Aranda, Anmatyerre, Kaytetye, Ngalia, Ilpara and Kukatja lands.
==Decline== thumb|Western quoll roadkill The western quoll has declined due to several factors. Land clearing, inappropriate fire regimes, grazing by stock and feral herbivores, illegal shooting, accidental drowning in water tanks, being hit by motor vehicles, and poisoning are all responsible for their disappearances.<ref name="Australian Wildlife Conservancy"/> Foxes and cats have a massive impact; both predation and competition narrow room for the western quoll.<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021"/> As more land became less suitable for living in, the western quoll is forced to move elsewhere.
AWC (Australia Wildlife Conservancy) protects this species at Paruna Sanctuary using a comprehensive feral predator control program, which sees feral cat and fox numbers controlled using trapping and baiting.<ref name="Australian Wildlife Conservancy"/>
== Reintroductions == There have been ongoing attempts to re-establish the western quoll in parts of its former range.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/factsheet-western-quolls|title=Western quolls – Reintroducing the species to the Flinders Ranges (SA)|access-date=2015-09-17}}</ref>
A five-year trial re-introduction of western quoll to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia began in April 2014.<ref name="Landline20140426" /> Despite the loss of about a third of the first release population (mostly due to predation by feral cats), most of the surviving females bred and sixty joeys were born.<ref>{{cite web | last =Staight | first =Kerry | title =More rare western quolls to be released in SA after successful start to reintroduction project | work =ABC News online | publisher =Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date =7 February 2015 | url =http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-07/more-rare-quolls-head-sa-after-successful-start-reintroduction/6075576 | access-date = 8 February 2015 }}</ref> {{As of|2016|May}}, a final release of 15 quolls from Western Australia was carried out in the Flinders Ranges, with a total population of 150. About half of this population was born locally. Monitoring of the population continued for an additional two years.<ref name="abc.net.au-2016-05-08">{{cite web | url =http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-08/quolls-released-back-into-flinders-ranges/7393926 | title =Final batch of western quolls released into Flinders Ranges as part of reintroduction project | last =Fedorowytsch | first =Tom | date =8 May 2016 | website =ABC News | publisher =Australian Broadcasting Corporation | access-date =8 May 2016 | quote =They seem to be holding on to their territory, and we think things are looking good but we'll continue to monitor for the next two years. }}</ref> The success of the reintroduction led to relocation of animals from the initial site in the Ikara–Flinders Ranges National Park to the Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park in 2022 and 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-04-27 |title=Reintroduced quolls thriving in South Australia's Gammon Ranges, early signs show |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-27/reintroduced-quolls-thriving-in-flinders-ranges/101019542 |access-date=2022-05-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-04-05 |title=Threatened western quolls making a comeback in Flinders Ranges |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-05/western-quoll-translocation-success-south-australia/102181396 |access-date=2023-05-07}}</ref>
The species has been returned to the South Australian arid zone, with a population established at the fenced Arid Recovery Reserve near Roxby Downs.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-12-12|title=Year of the Quoll|url=https://aridrecovery.org.au/year-of-the-quoll/|access-date=2020-09-01|website=Arid Recovery|language=en-US |author1=Arid }}</ref> Animals were reintroduced to the semi-arid Mount Gibson Sanctuary in WA in April 2023, with the aid of feral predator control.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=The National |date=2023-05-03 |title=Western Quoll reintroduction to Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary sets a new milestone in conservation |url=https://www.nationaltribune.com.au/western-quoll-reintroduction-to-mt-gibson-wildlife-sanctuary-sets-a-new-milestone-in-conservation/ |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=The National Tribune |language=en-AU}}</ref>
Plans are in process to reintroduce the species to Dirk Hartog Island in Shark Bay,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chuditch (Western Quoll)|url=https://www.sharkbay.org/publications/fact-sheets-guides/chuditch/|access-date=2020-09-01|website=Shark Bay|language=en-AU}}</ref> Wardang Island<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rewilding Wardang Island|url=https://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/projects/rewilding-wardang-island/|access-date=2020-09-01|website=Greening Australia|language=en-US}}</ref> as part of the Marna Banggara<ref>{{cite web | title=Marna Banggara: Creating a safe haven for native species | website=Landscape South Australia | series=Northern and Yorke | date=24 December 2020 | url=https://www.landscape.sa.gov.au/ny/projects/Marna_Banggara_A_safe_haven_for_native_species | access-date=6 April 2021 | archive-date=18 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418074952/https://www.landscape.sa.gov.au/ny/projects/Marna_Banggara_A_safe_haven_for_native_species }}</ref> (formerly Great Southern Ark) project on the southern Yorke Peninsula<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-01-31|title=Bilbies, numbats, quolls included in 'great southern ark' rewilding project|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-01-31/rewilding-yorke-peninsula-innes/10762182|access-date=2020-09-01|website=www.abc.net.au|language=en-AU}}</ref> in South Australia, and large fenced reserves in the Pilliga Forest,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Pilliga|url=https://www.australianwildlife.org/where-we-work/the-pilliga/|access-date=2020-09-01|website=AWC - Australian Wildlife Conservancy|language=en-AU}}</ref> Mallee Cliffs National Park<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mallee Cliffs National Park Review of Environmental Factors for the Reintroduction of Locally Extinct Mammals|url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/research-and-publications/publications-search/mallee-cliffs-national-park-review-environmental-factors-reintroduction-locally-extinct-mammals|access-date=2020-09-01|website=NSW Environment, Energy and Science|language=en}}</ref> and Sturt National Park,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sturt National Park Review of Environmental Factors for the reintroduction of locally extinct mammals|url=http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/research-and-publications/publications-search/sturt-national-park-review-of-environmental-factors-reintroduction-locally-extinct-mammals|access-date=2020-09-04|website=NSW Environment, Energy and Science|language=en}}</ref> all in NSW.
Captive breeding programs have contributed to reintroduction efforts, with Perth Zoo providing some animals for release.<ref name="Dasyurus geoffroii western quoll" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Dasyurus geoffroii}}
{{Dasyuromorphia|D.D.}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q194252}}
Category:Dasyuromorphs Category:Vulnerable fauna of Australia Category:Mammals of Western Australia Category:Mammals described in 1841 Category:Endemic fauna of Southwest Australia Category:Taxa named by John Gould Category:Marsupials of Australia