Researchers from the University of Wollongong are interested in the occurrence of the Spotted-tailed Quoll in New South Wales.

The research team, lead by Dr Chris McLean, is trying to build a better understanding of quoll distribution in agricultural and cleared landscapes.

“With Spotted-tailed Quolls, up until around 20 years ago records in agricultural lands were reasonably frequent, but in a lot of places their numbers have really declined.” Dr McLean told Watershed Landcare.

Spotted-tailed Quolls are an endangered species and as such are a species of interest. They are mainland Australia's largest carnivorous marsupial and, as a native top order predator, play an important role in regulating the food chain.

“The idea of this project is to firstly determine where Quolls still occur and secondly to complete a field survey if its shown that enough records seem to occur.” said Dr McLean.

“So far we have surveyed 800 sites in the Pilliga, Hunter Valley, the Southern Highlands and the Blue Mountains.” he continued.

The team is now focusing on the area west of the Blue Mountains, particularly areas around Capertee, Jenolan and Lithgow, but are also interested in any sightings in the Mudgee area.

If you have seen a Quoll in the past 10 years, Dr McLean would like to hear from you. The following information would be required:

-Approximate date of the sightings.

-Location of the sighting, as specific as possible, for example a property address or where possible, specific coordinates.

-What was the Quoll doing at the time (such as eating your chickens or crossing the road).

-Your contact details.

For further information or to communicate your sightings, please email Dr Chris McLean chrismc@uow.edu.au or contact Huw Evans huw.evans@lls.nsw.gov.au.