Scientific Name: Dasyurus hallucatus
Conservation Status: Endangered
Body Length (nose to tail): 45–131 cm
Weight: 240–1120 g
Gestation: 21–26 days
Number of Young: 6 (average)

Distribution: Parts of northern Australia (WA, NT and QLD)
Habitat: Rocky escarpments, eucalypt forests, woodlands and around human settlements

Description: The Northern Quoll is Australia’s smallest quoll and is about the size of a small cat. Males are larger than females. Northern Quolls are brown with white spots on their back, rump and head and have a creamy white belly. Their tail measures 20–34 cm and doesn’t usually have spots.

Diet: Northern Quolls are omnivores. Their diet consists of invertebrates, plants, small mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and bird eggs. They also scavenge road kill with fatal consequences sometimes as they are struck by cars themselves.

In the Wild: Mostly nocturnal, Northern Quolls and are both terrestrial (land-dwelling) and arboreal (tree-dwelling). Males and females are solitary and maintain their own territories. They set up various dens in anything from rock crevices and tree hollows to termite mounts and roofs of houses.

Northern Quolls live short lives. Most males die soon after mating and females usually only survive one breeding season. They breed once a year and usually produce six in a litter. They are mature at 11 months.

Threats: Northern Quoll numbers are declining. Their predators include dingos, feral cats, snakes, owls and kites. They are also killed by domestic dogs, motor vehicles and pesticide poisoning. The spread of the Cane Toad into Northern Territory has led to local extinctions of Northern Quolls. The quolls die after eating the poisonous Cane Toad.

At Perth Zoo: Perth Zoo has one Northern Quoll on display in the Nocturnal House.

Did you know? Quolls are sometimes called native cats. Unfortunately, they have suffered from the introduction of the domestic cat. There are four species of quoll in Australia – the Western Quoll (or Chuditch), the Northern Quoll, the Spotted-tailed (or Tiger) Quoll and the Eastern Quoll. Before European settlement they were found across Australia but now they are found in restricted areas and most are threatened with extinction.

The Northern Quoll exhibit is proudly sponsored by Western Areas NL.