- WU Team
- 15 September 2025
- 10:59 am
- 0 comments
The Latrine Scene: What Quoll scats tell us about their survival
Wildlife Unlimited Field Equollogists recently drove four hours to rugged upper Snowy River country in East Gippsland and then walked two hours through the bush to deploy a cellular-enabled camera at a remote quoll latrine.
A latrine is basically a Facebook page where quolls make posts in the form of scat and urine to communicate with each other. While this elusive predator usually flies solo, a reliable means of communication is essential for finding mates during breeding season and marking territory. Rocky platforms in obvious locations, such as outcrops and river corridors, are a popular choice.
Above left: Aged scat indicates this is a well-used Quoll latrine site. Middle: Cellular-enabled cameras upload images to a central database remotely, allowing the team to keep an eye on remote field sites. Right: Senior field ecologist, Rachael Bartlett, swabs some (aromatic!) scats from a beloved threatened species.
One week later, a welcome visitor showed up to make a post.
We counted 20+ scats (aka poos) ranging from fresh and musky to old and disintegrating, telling us that the site is a long-running local hotspot for the rare Spot-tailed Quoll. The fresher specimens were swabbed and sampled for genetic analysis by Cesar Australia.
Genetic analysis can answer key questions like:
- How many quolls are around?
- How closely or distantly related are they?
- Are they interacting and breeding with quolls in other areas?
Answers to these questions are key pieces of the puzzle for our Gippsland Spot-tailed Quoll Recovery Program, which aims to improve understanding of Spot-tailed Quoll populations in Victoria. We are working to determine what it will take to prevent their further decline and, ultimately, how we can return quolls to country on which they previously roamed.
For now, one thing is certain … only the most quollity toilet spots will do!
We are conducting these surveys as part of our Gippsland Spot-tailed Quoll Recovery Program, funded by the Victorian Government’s Nature Fund and Rendere Environmental Trust, and supported by Biodiversity Legacy.
Senior field ecologist, Rachael Bartlett, is thrilled to find and swab some aromatic scats from a beloved threatened species.
Above left: Senior Field Ecologist, Willow Bourke, ponders the biggest question of all: how do we keep quolls in East Gippsland? (We’re working on it!). Right: Wide view of the location, showing Willow in the distance.