Juvenile Chuditch inside mumspouch. Second gen for Mt-Gibson.
©-Louis-ONeill
Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary welcomes second generation of Western Quolls
A litter of four Chuditch (Western Quoll) discovered at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region marked a conservation milestone for the sanctuary, as the first ‘grandchildren’ to a population that was reintroduced two years ago.
The young Chuditch were found safely snuggled inside mum’s pouch by Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s (AWC) ecology team during regular monitoring of the species. Mum was identified by the team as ‘Honey Jumble’, the Mt Gibson-born daughter of one of the 83 individuals that were reintroduced to Mt Gibson in 2023-2024, as part of a significant Mammal Restoration Project to return 10 locally-extinct species to their former range. At the time of her birth, Honey Jumble was one of the first Chuditch in over a century to be born on the sanctuary, located on Badimia Country.
“Mt Gibson-born Chuditch are having babies, and the original Chuditch released at the sanctuary are now grandparents. We’re stoked,” said Dr Louis O’Neill, AWC Wildlife Ecologist and leader of the survey team. “Juveniles from the first generation are regularly being detected, meeting one of our criteria for success, giving us hope that the reintroduction is going well and the population is establishing.”
“This discovery also supports our ‘beyond the fence’ strategy, where we are researching the circumstances and levels of feral predator suppression required for species to persist in the landscape.”
Although the Chuditch was the 10th and final species reintroduced to Mt Gibson, it was the first to be released solely outside the site’s 7,800 hectare feral predator-free fenced area. Since the reintroduction, AWC ecologists have closely monitored individuals through routine surveys, and implemented a clever ID system, checking and recording each Chuditch’s unique spot pattern, to confirm the presence of new individuals.
“Since they were reintroduced, the Chuditch have done really well at Mt Gibson,” Dr O’Neill added. “Survival rate is great, and we’ve had at least 24 Mt Gibson-born individuals that are now living independently. We see them regularly across the sanctuary but also tracked some individuals as they dispersed beyond our boundaries, expanding the reach of this reintroduction effort.”
“One individual, ‘Capybara’, ventured onto Ninghan IPA, traveling 27 km North, and a couple crossed over into the neighbouring Charles Darwin Reserve. The biggest movement we’ve recorded was of a female, ‘Kākāpō’, who travelled about 50 km in less than 11 days.”
Mt Gibson’s Mammal Restoration Project commenced in 2015 with the construction of the 7,800-hectare feral-free fenced area, the largest single-pen cat and fox-free area on mainland Western Australia at the time of its construction.
Shortly after the area was cleared of introduced predators, wildlife reintroductions began with the return of the Greater Bilby, Numbat, Greater Stick-nest Rat and Woylie (Brush-tailed Bettong) between 2016-2018. The Shark Bay Bandicoot, Red-tailed Phascogale, Banded Hare-wallaby and Shark Bay Mouse followed between 2017-2019. In 2021, the Brushtail Possum was the first species to be reintroduced outside the feral predator-free fenced area and was joined shortly after by the Chuditch and Woylie.
Eight of the ten species reintroduced have gone on to establish healthy and growing populations. AWC will make a further attempt to establish Shark Bay Mouse, one of the two species reintroductions that did not result in large new populations at Mt Gibson, in coming years.
AWC protects the Chuditch at Paruna and Mt Gibson wildlife sanctuaries in WA using a comprehensive feral predator control program. For more on the species, click here.
Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is a global leader in conservation, providing hope for Australia’s wildlife with a science-informed, land management partnership model that delivers high impact results. AWC is a national leader in landscape scale conservation land management, reintroductions of threatened species and the establishment of feral cat and fox-free areas. More information can be found at: www.australianwildlife.org
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