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Conservation organisation Aussie Ark has collaborated with the University of Sydney on a science-based reintroduction of eastern quolls on mainland Australia into a controlled bushland environment near Nowra. It is the first time the eastern quoll has been released on this site - a significant step towards rewilding for a species is otherwise extinct on mainland Australia.

The two organisations released 15 endangered eastern quolls (Dasyurus viverrinus) into a 68-hectare feral-proof site, on the Scots College’s Bannockburn property near Nowra on the NSW South Coast. Jerrinja Traditional Owners also partnered on the project, with tribal leader Ron Carberry, among others, attending the event and conducting a Welcome to Country.

The University of Sydney’s Global Ecology Lab in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences manages the project, headed by Associate Professor Thomas Newsome with project lead Dr Patrick Finnerty and on-the-ground research conducted by PhD student Pat Bragato.

Associate Professor Newsome said the priority is to undertake long-term scientific research to better understand how to bolster the success of eastern quoll rewilding. This will involve intensive post-release monitoring, including the deployment of very-high frequency (VHF) radio and global positioning system (GPS) tail transmitters, camera observation with a network of 54 camera traps across the site, and quarterly cage trapping to collect data.

Associate Professor Newsome advised “this long-term research project provides us with a wonderful opportunity not only to establish a meta-population of eastern quolls on mainland Australia but also deep-dive into the ecology of the species.

“We need to better understand the quolls’ role in an ecosystem from which it has been absent from for almost 70 years.

“This includes understanding its impact as both predator and scavenger, and its role nutrient-recycling within a landscape.”

The Scots College Bannockburn has been modelled on Aussie Ark’s 400-hectare feral-proof Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary, where 10 of the eastern quolls released at Bannockburn were born and bred.

Aussie Ark Operations Manager Dean Reid said these quolls were in top health and added “the release is another powerful step toward one day rewilding the eastern quoll to the mainland of Australia. It follows last year’s historic release of our Eastern Quolls into Booderee Botanical Gardens, when Federal Minister for the Environment Tanya Plibersek personally released one of our quolls.”

Alongside Booderee, Bannockburn now joins the SE NSW Eastern Quoll Hub; a network of sanctuaries participating in a genetic metapopulation management plan to ensure the long-term genetic and demographic health of eastern quoll populations in feral-free areas.

The University of Sydney’s Dr Finnerty noted “the Bannockburn release is an important step in exploring a multi-faceted approach to improving the success of ‘beyond-the-fence’ re-wilding of the eastern quoll.”

It’s an ambition that captures the mind and heart of Jerrinja tribal leader Ron Carberry, who reflected on a time not so long ago when his ancestors walked on Country with this “magic little animal”.

“What is happening today is a magnificent moment,” Carberry shared. “It’s about healing Country.”

Please support Aussie Ark’s vital work breeding and rewilding the endangered eastern quoll from extinction by donating today at aussieark.org.au 

The Global Ecology Lab in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney seeks to understand how humans and wildlife shape and drive ecosystem processes. Much of our work is focused on wildlife that act as important ecosystem engineers, especially large carnivores and scavengers. Our work provides solutions to the challenges of wildlife conservation and management in a rapidly changing world. More information Sydney Global Ecology Lab.

Images. Credit: Aussie Ark

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