Baby eastern quolls born in captivity give hope for extinction reversal | ABC Australia

An Eastern quoll breeding program in Dunkeld is celebrating a litter of 6 new pups, who are black with white spots. Conservation Manager Hayley Glover explains the status of Eastern quoll and the fascinating natural selection each quoll mum goes through. Subscribe ✅ and tap the notification bell 🔔 to be delivered Australian stories every day: ab.co/ABCAus-su...
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This is an official Australian Broadcasting Corporation KZbin channel. Contributions may be removed if they violate ABC's Online Conditions of Use www.abc.net.au/... (Section 3).

[@wendynicklin7693]

Didn't know they exist 😃 nice to know about this species

[@KingWhiskers1]

New to me as well. quirky little things.

[@intuitivesongbird8969]

Yes, first I thought "what are those cute spotted rats, is it a new breed?"

[@jackiestowe6987]

First time I have even heard of a quoll. What a beautiful little creature. Love the spots.

[@impunitythebagpuss]

Glad I'm not alone in not know about these cute little critters! And so glad people are working on their survival!

[@NoTaboos]

Your primary school teachers failed you.

[@JF-kv1gm]

I've never seen this species before...quolls. They are stunningly cute. Thank you so much for your work to avoid the extinction of various species. 🙏🤞👏💗

[@Redoption19]

Find a s person who’s willing to read a script. Find mouse . Spray paint spots . Ask for donations. Next ex stink animal

[@louievito5701]

Check out the big brain on armando

[@jimroyle2206]

​@@Redoption19 15 watts on a good day!

[@nonnyena4267]

If they can catch / kill rabbits, i wonder if they'd be helpful with the mouse invasion they're having in the Outback?

[@Skittenmeow]

Mice breed WAY too quickly, no way even a massive federal cat population could keep up. Mouse gestation is about 20 days and mother can give birth to litters 25 days apart, up to 14 pups per litter. Up to and exceeding 10 litters per year in good conditions. Baby mice become fertile at around 6 weeks old and while there is food (including other mice) they will keep breeding.

[@InVinoVeratas]

As an island species, I think it'd be too sheltered from unforeseen circumstances, island species tend to specialize at what they do, and don't tend to have a variety of options when it comes to defending themselves against species they've never encountered before.

[@eatwhatukiii2532]

Certainly, if the human-introduced cats and foxes didn’t pose such a threat.

[@Darby0642]

When I lived in Darwin many years ago my neighbours were part of a quoll breeding program in preparation for their extinction as the cane toads migrated north. The quolls would eat the cane toads and be poisoned. It was such an awesome feeling to walk into their house, put your arm into the baby quoll enclosure and have 15 teeny little quolls run up your arm and start scratching around.

[@NoTaboos]

Not the same species.

[@masterofsparkshwy6974]

Australia has the coolest animal population, shame how they've been treated, people of the 19th and early 20th century really had no idea the damage they were causing I believe. Good that organizations are trying to save species.

[@zoekenny3619]

People like this are the real heroes in my eyes. Without our environment in all its diversity, we are screwed, simple as that. Thank god there are people working hard to salvage and sustain our priceless natural heritage.

[@s10m0t10n]

That's a good comment, Zoe. Very well put.

[@greendiamonds8047]

She said animals are the biggest threat to these little guys, but I’m wondering if humans are part of the reason for them becoming nearly extinct...

[@intuitivesongbird8969]

@@greendiamonds8047 Yes people were the reason they are endangered by hunting them, now unfortunately gotta fix the mistake humans have made. Right now the animals are the ones who are dangerous for the youngsters, that is what she said. Those animals are just so cute! Have a great day.

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

@Jesse Porter It was never global cooling my dude.

[@seretith3513]

@@greendiamonds8047 she literally said we hunted with the Goal of Extinction

[@susanpitt4742]

What a wonderful job you are doing. On behalf of everyone, a huge Thank You.

[@austinmajor3288]

If only there was a strategy to be able to save the other 24 baby quolls, that would probably help the species out immensely!

[@RCSVirginia]

Austin Major I was thinking the same thing, but I couldn't think of how it would be done.

[@mikep8080]

These are marsupials and having multiple litters at once is common with them. We have sugar gliders that follow the same birthing system. They could have 3 litters all at the same time. Inside the womb, inside the pouch attached to the teets, and ones outside the pouch. Not all survive and if something knocks them off a teet they pretty much die as its very difficult and nearly impossible to reattach as they practically lock jaw on. And cats and even rabbits(rabbits require meat to increase the odds of first litter survival so we have found giving them uncooked bacon solves that issue sometimes) follow the same process and will eat the young if they wont survive. After all you cant have decaying meat in your den and the mother needs to regain as much energy as possible. Its nature

[@helentee9863]

@@mikep8080 thanks, that's really interesting, l knew that many animals ate the placenta following a birth, and that animals such as cats would eat those young that died, but not that an animal like a rabbit would also eat their young

[@ceciliapreziose3783]

no kidding

[@petert3355]

@@helentee9863 The other thing with Marsupials is that the mother has the ability to put the one's in the womb "on hold" as it were if the resources are not about for them to survive. During a drought etc. Basically what that means is that as soon as it rains, mum pops out young'un's and then mates again. Marsupials are the quickest to produce young when times turn good.

[@thearmchairjournalist566]

I would see these in the bush when I was a kid in Tasmania in the 80’s 😍

[@susanscovill6817]

They are beautiful! Cheers from Canader eh!

[@alynneflanery9918]

omg, those babies are ADORABLE so pretty and look so soft too...so adorable...

[@RyLo18D]

If we can get their numbers back up to we might be able to see a solution to the rabbit and rat problem. They won’t be able to contend against foxes, unfortunately that position used to be filled by Tasmanian tigers and they’re extinct

[@buttbiter3139]

Just clone them. Or arm your populace like any intelligent western country and have an good ole fashion culling of foxes with a bounty system.

[@Nirrrina]

@@buttbiter3139 Unfortunately that's probably what's needed & while they're at it they need to hunt down all the truly feral housecats in the bush. I love cats but they're doing untold amounts of damage & I saw a video of one. It no longer even looked like a housecat anymore & could never be rehabilitated like a few city ferals can be. Just uh don't tell my cats on me.

[@raerohan4241]

@@buttbiter3139 Bounties don't always work, unfortunately. In some places in the past, bounties were put on rats and venomous snakes, but that quickly stopped once it was found out that people were breeding them to turn in for cash instead of trapping. And of course, when those people released their then-useless breeding stock into the wild, the initial problem became much worse. I think Australia's best chance against foxes might be TNR, actually

[@GotAnUmbrella]

@@Nirrrina the problem with hunting down the cats is that more cats will come because there is then space for them. Unless you manage to kill thousands at a time you are just inviting new cats into the area.

[@solarlola5953]

Poor rabbits ..rabbits are just as adorable

[@leenahusa1806]

Those babies are so insanely adorable! 😍😍😍

[@toad4ever103]

I'd never heard of these little guys until about a week ago in another KZbin video. They look like they have stars on them.

[@impunitythebagpuss]

I'm 70 and never have I ever heard of these beautiful animals! I've watched wildlife videos and subscribed to National Geographic all my life ....never knew these little guys existed! Are they marsupials? Best of luck keeping the species on the planet!

[@ladydriver0_0]

Yes, they're marsupials.

[@davespanksalot8413]

They are the mid range size between the rat sized antichinus and the small dog sized Tasmanian devil.

[@cygil1]

Yes, most Australian mammals are.

[@jimmeven1120]

You've beaten me by four years! I'm sixty-six and until I saw this video I was a quoll virgin too. I can't imagine why this came up in my recommendations but it's the most interesting thing I've seen this year so far.

[@NebraskaGonvilleJones]

I am lucky enough to have a nature reserve with eastern quolls right next door to where I live in Canberra. The enclosure has a large tall fence that is dug 10 feet into the ground to keep pests out - rabbits, cats and foxes as well as Roos as they are in destructive numbers around here. It is the only reserve that has been successful in completely eradicating invasive species from a wild enclosure in Australia. The quolls are doing really well along with Bettongs who are now extinct from the mainland but still have small populations in Tasmania. Each evening I go for walks in the reserve and occasionally run into these adorable little guys living as they should, without being bullied or eaten by nasty foreigners.

[@mjremy2605]

Hurrah!!! Magnificent job, Australia! Wonderful little animals, reminds me of Minks in their carnivorous appetites. Babies are so sweet all polka dotted!

[@mirellag3925]

Bellissimi mai visti sono bellissimi🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😘😘😘😘😘😘

[@jerlee620]

Ah, yes. The reverse Dalmatian Rat. Lookin good ol’ sport.

[@brooklynnchick]

It is so exciting to see work like this, each of these species is a treasure of potential study and learning. I’m not a big fan of chickens, so bring on the cuties!

[@latoyaleeperez2066]

Never in my life seen this adorable little creature 💋💋🥺🥺

[@farahsummers1171]

Aww! Oh my goodness! I've found a new creature to fall entirely in love with! :) Bless them & their spotty stunningness! ♡Thanks for all you do to preserve these beauties♡

[@AzaleaLala]

I have never heard or seen one of these. I love their spots! I hope they are successful in reintroducing them to the wild.

[@Akkalia]

They are adorable

[@watjejanssen7535]

such beautiful animals,love them

[@harrietlyall1991]

Awwww, QUOLLS!! These are my new favourite creature 💖 So spotty! So pretty!

[@jannetteberends8730]

Thank you for introducing the quoll to me. What a cute animal.

[@senyagwynn8095]

Amazing little creatures!! Thank you for saving them!!

[@louisehelgesson5471]

My goodness the babies are so cute🥰

[@Catlady77777]

Dots! So cute!

[@roxannaweaver2155]

The music background is louder than her voice which makes it difficult to hear what she is saying. I've not seen a quoll or even heard of them before. Another first for me to enjoy in my 70th year.

[@jodyknight]

What great work you're doing here. Quolls are gorgeous animals. I have seen one where we live in Qld, and at the time I hadn't even heard of them. However, when I found one by torch light one night stuck in a fenced area under our house trying to get to our chickens and I described it to a friend he said: "That sounds like a quoll!" So, I looked them up, and that is definitely what I saw. It escaped unharmed once I showed it where the door was.

[@electriclllady]

Oh my gosh, that's so cute, "once I showed it where the door was" 😍💕💕💕 I love them. They're so beautiful and important.

[@TheCratsky]

Hopefully these babies can thrive despite the introduced species such as feral dogs and cats. Great work to try and bring them back.

[@muber9788]

Learned something new today. Thank you for sharing this. Thank you for the important work that you are doing.

[@mabellee424]

Cute cute cute !

[@billmyers991]

I'm sure I saw a quoll in state forest at Coopernook NSW a few years ago while mountain biking, unless there's such a thing as spotted possums

[@swilson5320]

How cute!!!

[@lorenrich2525]

Omg!…. The polka dotted pups are too cute

[@lsporter88]

Very cute ( and so were the quolls😁).

[@deadazzz]

It makes me 1000% happy that she had mentioned cats. Studies have shown that cats feral and domestic are extremely problematic for small animals.

[@kalayne6713]

Studies have also shown that humans do the most damage to our planet's flora and fauna than any other species.Don't blame cats for doing what comes naturally. Blame ignorant, irresponsible humans for not having their cats neutered and kept inside.

[@thenorthernspinozist397]

@@kalayne6713 Thank you well stated.

[@Squirrely456]

@@kalayne6713 You are right that the feral cat problem is the fault of humans. Humans now have a duty to try to fix the problem, and the sad truth is that killing the feral cats is sometimes the only way to save the animals they are hunting. There are way too many to adopt and TNR lets them keep destroying the habitat and attracts irresponsible people who want a place to dump their cats. I love cats and have two in my house. Indoors only because I also love wildlife.

[@_Obey_]

Yeah, thanks to "cat lovers" that let their "pets" roam free, uncontrolled and unneutered, millions of these animals that they claim to love had to be brutally poisoned and killed. Good job. If you're against "caging" an animal, don't get any pets at all, its really simple.

[@joyglocker8318]

Learned sth new today, thanks and a lot of success for the breeding project.

[@jemmapellemma8185]

KZbin ads is like: did you mean _Kohl's?_

[@TheConfusername]

Awesome -- another Scrabble word I can use in a pinch.

[@stuartcoad3444]

amazing

[@Frenchylikeshikes]

I had never heard of those animals ever in my life before.

[@finncharles4590]

My favorite aussie animal (tied with the Numbat) ;w; glad to see there is some hope!

[@kismypencek6185]

Omg so magnificent! Thank you for your honorable work!!!

[@dem0nchild610]

The babies look like spotted mice they are adorable even full grown

[@garyK.45ACP]

If we could get them into the pet trade, they would eventually be released in Florida and there would be millions of them in about 3 years. Look what we did for the Burmese python, green iguana and Nile Monitor (Goannas as the Aussies call them)

[@seamus7585]

So beautiful ❤️

[@nowvoyagerNE]

you need a better balance between music and narrative: *the music is too loud.*

[@tanyabrown9839]

I'm sure I saw one of these just over 30 years ago out in the wild in Sth Australia. It was late at night and right on the borders of the country town I lived in out by paddocks and near a creek which had a lot of water rushes (where ducks nest) and where there was a big water drain area. It was jumping about playing in the moonlight, the size of a cat, it looked quite graceful as it jumped. We stopped our car and watched this thing which obviously was some kind of native animal and not a cat play. It took me ages at the time to find out that it was probably a quoll we saw that night, something which is supposed to not exist there. If I hadnt had young kids at the time I probably would of stayed out there for a few nights trying to see it again to get a photo.

[@NoTaboos]

Not the same species.

[@dyscea]

Can’t wait for their populations to thrive!

[@julieh9679]

They’re so beautiful! I’ve never seen them before. I’m glad they’re being saved.

[@sandramorey2529]

These are so cute! Are they marsupial? Thank you for this. I had never heard of Eastern Quolls. I watch every wildlife special on TV so thanks for introducing me to Quolls.

[@MrSoumyaBanerjee]

Yes, they're the second largest extant marsupial carnivore, after the Tasmanian devil.

[@hopeclayburnsax9369]

I think about the mouse plague going on in Australia and guessing that perhaps the lack of quolls and other predatory species doesn’t help. So glad to see any species brought back from the brink and love their spots.

[@gunthersteinfelder5089]

Imagine how many Quolls there would be if shooting feral cats and foxes was promoted by supposed environmental groups. I have also seen Quolls in the wild near Batemans Bay, so I question the claims of mainland extinction.

[@GotAnUmbrella]

Shooting off feral cats just makes more cats come to the area so it doesn't do much. It's the vacuum affect. Unless you shoot thousands at a time it makes no real difference to the Quoll population according to studies done.

[@mary-anneswanson8445]

The quolls have something in common with rabbits in that they will kill their young but for different reasons. We were always warned not to go near the barn after the rabbits had kindled. I hope the breeding program will bring these beautiful fierce little creature back from the brink :)

[@marykarraker6909]

Going toTasmania in March. A biologist, I had never heard of Quolls. I visited Sydney to Cairns 50 years ago. Can't wait for new adventures in Tasmania.

[@HeavenAndHope]

What a cute animal! I'm learning about animals everyday! I did not know about this cute creature! What a great news! Hope they multiply fast 💜🤗

[@MalaYLoca]

They’re so adorable, never heard of these animals but they’re interesting looking with those spots.

[@kirkwagner461]

Very different coloration. Why are the ones in the first part of the vid lighter colored, while those at the end are almost black? Different regions? Male/female? Diet?

[@helentee9863]

I would say that the colour fades from black to brown as they grow older, looking at this video.

[@ladydriver0_0]

@@helentee9863 if you look at 2:39 you can see the mum in with her babies. She's lower left, note the larger spots compared to the babies and she is black with white spots. My guess a natural color variation.

[@CBlargh]

Cats should be banned from Oceania! Let the native population live.

[@h.s.6269]

Would reintroducing them potentially mess up current ecosystems since it's been so long since the were wild?

[@salimerekhorami5039]

At first I thought they were spotted rats, some kind of mixed breed? Never heard of these. Hope the breeding program increases their numbers and people (like myself) become more aware. Wonderful work ❤️

[@Nirrrina]

I've heard & seen quills online before. But the first thing I thought when I saw the thumbnail was that someone had photoshopped a mouse for their thumbnail. Partially because the spots were so perfectly spaced.

[@boarbot7829]

If they’re very endangered couldn’t you try to feed all the babies artificially or would that be bad for the gene pool?

[@AmberU]

So beautiful never seen this animal before but happy someone is looking out for them!

[@jamespaley7139]

It's similar to those like civits cats in southern france

[@tonibauer2405]

I read the words as “baby dolls born” at first. And they are pretty darn cute.

[@andreafabe-heywood8184]

I swear I saw one like this at Allyn River in NSW. Wtf did I see now.

[@hs2874]

Holy smokes they're seriously cute

[@TutoneJJ]

That piano was so loud I could barely tell what she was saying!

[@johannahidalgo7738]

I’ve never seen these cuties!!!! Thank god we’ve learned a bit, much work yet, thank you for helping them to live and thrive 😻

[@hmpz36911]

Quoll: Australian for squirrel

[@XenoRaptor-98765]

Do the same breeding program for the numbats as well.

[@FU-nb6bs]

🤔 i thought Australia was on lockdown

[@thepinkflamingostrikesagai7319]

They look like cute polka dotted rats. 🤗😂🙃

[@wyominghome4857]

Wait a minute. They're not "extinct" if they're still with us.

[@Adykayful]

Had no idea what this animal was, it's beautiful.

[@michael_swardh]

They are very cute, never heard of this species :)

[@stephanieyee9784]

I am so glad you are doing this wonderful conservation and breeding program for this beautiful native animal. They are so beautiful and the babies are adorable. Their shiny black spotted coats are just gorgeous.

[@boarbot7829]

Please bring them back they are too cute!

[@jamespenn5788]

I've never heard of a quoll. They are cute.

[@maximilianc9897]

Well done and thank you for your conservation efforts ! ❤️

[@metisinyeg]

I am delighted to have learned of the quolls existance. What an adorable and remarkable creature

[@aaizibrahim2469]

00:01 - 00:03 me mum every time i get dressed for work.

[@kt3300]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww !

[@jenell56]

Growing up in country WA during the 60's I only ever knew these as "wild cats" and they would decimate a chicken coop in a night if the chickens weren't locked in.

[@implausibleimpossiblehypot4006]

But did you have allot of rabbits?

[@Jin88866]

"survival of the cutest"

[@Jay-iu5bi]

At first I thought they’d red a spotted rat 😂

[@seangere9698]

Is there no way to hand raise newborns? I know they are the size of a grain of rice, give or take a couple of millimeters. If there was a way to do that wouldn't that help with bringing their numbers back up faster? I know it would take more to keep the gene pool viable but if it was done for say 10 pairs that would give you a lot of future pairings in just one generation and so on till it wouldn't be needed. Obviously I'm no expert on genetics but I think it would be something to look into at least and have someone that actually knows about genetics to keep the gene pool from getting too small.

[@emilymoran9152]

It seems like it would be near impossible to bottle-feed something that small... But yeah would be nice if you could!

[@johnnieridings2649]

Thank you for sharing 💖

[@caseyrosman5180]

Cccccccuuuuuuutttttteeeeee

[@happykt]

I had heard of this species. I didn't know they were almost completely eradicated.

[@sidilicious11]

I love the polka dots❤️

[@esta1ful]

They’re very cute animals.

[@Oddworld2024]

Beautiful animal and the babies are just adorable . Good luck to these interesting creatures

[@ArtyMars]

Foxes would decimate baby quolls they’re so small 😮

[@sherrykendrick1765]

Never heard of this animal. But they sure are cute. Wonderful job.

[@ronmac4725]

still alive and kicking in NSW