- WU Team
- 2 December 2024
- 8:21 am
- 0 comments
Testing, testing (our cameras) for the Spot-tail Quoll Recovery program
In partnership with Biodiversity Legacy and other environmental organisations, Wildlife Unlimited is delivering a Spot-tailed Quoll Recovery program in the last stronghold of this Endangered species - East Gippsland. Funded in 2024 via the Victorian Government's Nature Fund, the project will undertake genetic assessment of captive and wild quolls and develop cross-sector, multi-agency and Traditional Owner approaches to determine immediate and long-term actions to expand the area of occupancy.
Spot-tailed Quoll photo with thanks to Andy Nelson.
New camera technology
To this end, Wildlife Unlimited field ecologists recently tested out some new 4G cellular enabled cameras for our Spot-tailed Quoll project. We’re testing out these cameras this spring ahead of the quoll breeding season in winter – real-time photos can be sent through to staff, alerting us if a quoll is on site.
Quolls are more active in winter and advertise their presence to potential mates by depositing scats on rocky ledges known as “latrines”. This technology will allow us to collect fresh scat for genetic analysis, ensuring better data and creating efficiencies in our field program. No quolls sighted yet – but here are a few other visitors that have appeared on camera:
