Spotted-tail quoll facts
Common name: Spotted-tail quoll, Tiger quoll
Aboriginal names: Bindjulung
Scientific name: Dasyurus maculatus
Population: Declining
Endangered status: Endangered
Photo: Doug Gimesy
Are Spotted-tailed quolls extinct?
- Spotted-tail quolls are not extinct but they are endangered in mainland Australia, and listed as vulnerable in Tasmania.
- Since colonisation, these quolls have declined in both distribution and numbers. Researchers estimate quoll numbers have reduced by 50-90% on mainland Australia, as populations become increasingly fragmented.
- There are around 14,000 quolls left in the wild.
What are the biggest threats to the Spotted-tail quoll?
- The biggest threat to this marsupial is habitat destruction and forest fragmentation due to logging, land-clearing for development and bushfires.
- Introduced species such as red foxes and feral cats often prey on the tiger quoll, as well as compete with them for food.
What does a Spotted-tail quoll look like?
- The Spotted-Tail Quoll is one of the closest surviving relatives to the Tasmanian Tiger.
- Although often described as Australia’s ‘native cats’, they don’t look like cats at all.
- As the name suggests, these quolls are covered in white spots. And while they look cute with their pink noises and soft brown fur, tiger quolls have sharp teeth and are, in fact, the largest native carnivore left on the mainland.
Where can I find a Spotted-tail quoll?
- Quoll populations exist in eastern mainland Australia and in Tasmania.
- Their habitat is varied — from rainforests and woodlands to coastal heaths and estuarine areas. They find shelter in dens and tree hollows.
Photo: Aaron Stevenson
The Spotted-tail quoll is missing in the wild
We can’t imagine an Australia without the Spotted-tail quoll.
But quolls are missing in the wild. Because our leaders are missing in action.
That’s why we’re pushing for stronger laws to better protect them and all of Australia’s incredible wildlife.
We demand strong environment laws that will save our iconic wildlife.
We need laws that actually protect nature, including strong outcome-focused environmental standards and an independent regulator to oversee decision-making.
Speak up for the quoll
Add your voice to the petition to the federal government, asking our elected representatives to support ambitious global goals for nature to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and achieve a Nature Positive world by 2030 — and invite your friends to raise their voice to nature too.
Australia must work with other nations to deliver ambitious global goals for nature to halt and reverse biodiversity destruction and set us on a path to a nature-positive world.
Read more
Forest hideouts: Filming the secret life of Spotted-tail quolls
Header: Craig Dingle/Shutterstock