A South Australian farmer trying to protect his chickens has caught a spotted quoll – a species not recorded in the state for over 130 years.
Pao Ling Tsai lost one of his chickens to a predator earlier this week but managed to take some photographs of the animal before it escaped. Unsure of what he had seen, he contacted South Australia’s national parks and wildlife service and they set up a trap.
On Thursday morning, they found the spotted-tailed quoll, also known as the tiger quoll, inside.
“I expected to find a cat, but I found this endangered animal,” Pao said.
The spotted-tailed quoll exists in other parts of the country but has not been seen in South Australia for over 130 years, Limestone Coast ranger Ross Anderson said.
“It’s the first official record in that period of time,” he said. “There have been some unofficial sightings but nobody’s actually had an animal photographed, or in their hand, for that length of time.
“It’s amazing to have something we thought was extinct turning up at our backdoor.”
The spotted quoll is endangered on the mainland and vulnerable in Tasmania. The Australian Conservation Foundation believes there are only around 14,00o left in the wild.
“They’re considered extinct here as a result of loss of habitat, predation and competition with things like cats and foxes,” Anderson said.
“We can’t be sure where it’s come from. Is it an animal that still exists as a relic population? Is that something that has escaped from captivity? Or is it just a lone animal that’s what a really long way.”
The rangers took the quoll to the vet to check it was not microchipped, as some are kept in captivity. It was treated it for mange, before they took some hair for DNA samples. It will be released back into the wild in the surrounding area it is familiar with.
Anders said they would use cameras and traps to see if there are other quolls in the area, and locals have been urged to refrain from setting their own traps.