Ecologists are reintroducing Western Quolls

August 6, 2023 3:41 AM

Western Quolls disappeared from this region 100 years ago. Ecologists are bringing them back from the brink. The tiny, native western quoll that was all but wiped out in Western Australia has been reintroduced to parts of the state, and this time their welfare is being watched over by drones.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (17 comments total)

I'm very excited by this!
posted by harriet vane at 3:46 AM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

The second quoll photo is very evocative. “Hey, I’m eating here!”

Don’t bother the quolls.

Also, the researchers are rockin’ those hats.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:01 AM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Modless marsupial month maintains momentum!
posted by But tomorrow is another day... at 4:55 AM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

I can’t be the only one to have immediately thought of Richard Brautigan’s poem “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace”, the first verse especially:

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.

posted by Kattullus at 5:55 AM on August 6, 2023 [11 favorites]

Wikipedia says “They are largely solitary, but come together for a few social interactions such as mating…” So, what are the others? Book clubs? BBQs? Dance parties?
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:19 AM on August 6, 2023 [8 favorites]

All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace.

[Edit: somehow didn’t even see Kattullus’ comment above.]
posted by jimfl at 7:33 AM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Quolls Dance Party!

I'd watch that show.
posted by Windopaene at 8:20 AM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Always up for my latest hit of Quoll news from the CPBC!
posted by fairmettle at 9:11 AM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

I would like to be introduced, but it sounds like they are rather introverted so I will just follow them on social media, etc.
posted by Emmy Rae at 9:25 AM on August 6, 2023 [5 favorites]

Yay for the quolls and the researchers, and yay for these posts by chariot pulled by cassowaries!
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:29 AM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

The quolla spree of mercy is not strained!
posted by eponym at 1:24 PM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

Came to find out what kind of creature a "quoll" is. Was not disappointed by the bonus pic of ecologists in hats.

My initial guess was some kind of ground-dwelling bird. I guess I was imagining it as the Australian version of a quail.
Maybe a little more like a troll, maybe living on a knoll.
posted by chantenay at 5:23 PM on August 6, 2023

My Western Australia friend was bemoaning climate change. I told her about the quolls, and she laughed and said, “They’re vicious! They’re adorable, but they’re vicious!!”
posted by anshuman at 6:52 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

https://junkee.com/quolls-eat-people/326621
posted by anshuman at 6:56 PM on August 7, 2023

Wikipedia: “The tiger quoll has the second most powerful bite relative to body size of any living mammalian carnivore, exerting a force of 308 N (31.4 kgf).”
posted by anshuman at 6:58 PM on August 7, 2023

I mean, generally quolls won't bite you unless you get too close to them or try to pat them/pick them up (or stick your fingers through the bars of their cage!)

The documentary Quoll Farm, about quolls living on abandoned farm, has quolls coming into the loungeroom while the film maker eats dinner, and they frolic around the room without biting him.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 12:55 AM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

Quolls are still around in Tasmania, but locally extinct in areas which have been heavily affected by humans. My partner is working to reintroduce them to a property they’re regenerating in the agricultural Midlands. They’re marvellous little creatures, so inquisitive – they seem intelligent and curious. It’s a thrill to see them.
posted by michaelhoney at 5:31 PM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]