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Quoll Facts

Quoll Facts
Quoll belongs to the group of carnivorous marsupials. There are 6 species of quolls that differ in size, color of the fur and type of habitat. Two out of six live in the Papua New Guinea, while others inhabit Australia and Tasmania. Quoll inhabits forests, scrublands and grasslands at the altitude of up to 11.400 feet. Number of quolls dropped drastically in the previous century due to introduction of invasive species such as poisonous cane toads, foxes, cats and dogs which decrease amount of available food. Other than that, habitat loss and poisoning pose severe threats for the survival of remaining populations of quolls. Most species of quolls are listed as threatened or endangered.
Interesting Quoll Facts:
Size of the quoll depends on the species. They can reach 14 to 29.5 inches in length and 3 to 15.4 pounds of weight.
Quoll is covered with coarse coat that can be grey, brown or black in color. Basic color of the fur is enriched with prominent white spots.
Quoll has pointed snout and pink nose. Its powerful jaw is equipped with sharp teeth. Tail is long and bushy.
Quoll has sharp claws on the front and hind feet that are used for holding the food, climbing and digging underground burrows.
Quolls are nocturnal animals (active during the night).
Even though quolls are agile climbers, they spend majority of their life on the ground.
Quolls can consume both animals and plants. Diet is mainly based on small mammals (such as rabbits), small birds, snakes and insects. They occasionally eat fruit and nuts.
Main predators of quolls are crocodiles and snakes.
Quolls live in the underground burrows, inside the hollow trees or caves.
Quoll is territorial animal. Male’s territory overlaps with territories of several nearby females. They share communal latrines.
Quoll is solitary creature which gathers with other quolls only during the mating season.
Mating season of quolls takes place during the winter.
Pregnancy lasts only couple of weeks and ends with up to 30 miniature babies (they weigh less than one gram). Babies spend first 8 weeks of their life inside the mother’s pouch. After that period, babies are big enough to leave the pouch and ride on the mother’s back. Young quolls are ready for independent life at the age of 6 months.
Female’ pouch is not a true pouch. It forms out of the fold of skin on the stomach after successful mating. Pouch contains only 6 teats, which means that only 6 babies out of 30 will be able to survive and complete their development. Quolls reach sexual maturity at the age of one year.
Quolls have short lifespan. They can survive from 2 to 5 years in the wild, depending on the species.


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