Other Names: Spotted-tailed Quoll
Scientific Name: Dasyurus maculatus
IUCN Status: Vulnerable
Length: 39–51 cm
Weight: 1.6–7 kg
Gestation: 21 days
Number of young: 5

Distribution: Eastern Australia and Tasmania
Habitat: Rainforest, eucalypt forests, creek and river forests.

Description: The Tiger Quoll’s colour varies from reddish-brown to dark brown, with distinctive white spots on the body and tail. They have a long tail that is 34–49 cm. They differ from other quolls in size and have spots all down the tail.

Diet: Tiger Quolls are carnivores and prey on small-to-medium-sized mammals, including bandicoots, possums, pademelons, rats and gliders.

In the wild: Tiger Quolls are the largest carnivorous marsupial on the mainland. Each quoll has a home range of usually 500 hectares that overlaps with other quolls. Females, however, may maintain exclusive territories when rearing their young.

Threats: Introduced predators such as foxes compete with Tiger Quolls for food. Land clearing and farming are also threatening the territories of these animals. Foxes also eat quolls, especially the young that have been deposited in the nests and those that travel with the mother as she searches for food.

At Perth Zoo: Perth Zoo’s Tiger Quolls can be seen in the Nocturnal House.

Did you know? Quolls defecate in a common open space called a latrine. These sites may have up to 100 droppings piled up. Latrines show where the territories are and which animals are in the area.