Spotted-Tailed Quoll

Viewing season: young emerge in October and November.

The spotted-tailed quoll is the second largest of the world's surviving carnivorous marsupials, after the Tasmanian devil.

Spotted-tailed quolls vary from reddish brown to dark chocolate brown with white spots on the body and tail (unlike eastern quolls, which do not have spots on the tail). They are larger than the eastern quoll, with males measuring up to 130 centimetres (51 inches) long and weighing four kilograms (8.8 pounds). Females are significantly smaller than males.

They are also found on the east coast of mainland Australia, but this is rare. Spotted-tailed quolls are most common in cool temperate rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest and coastal scrub along the north and west coasts of Tasmania.

They are largely solitary and nocturnal, although they sometimes forage during daylight hours. A capable hunter, they kill their prey by biting on or behind the head. They prey on rats, gliding possums, small or injured wallabies, reptiles, insects, and birds and eggs from time to time. Carrion is often eaten and they have been known to scavenge at ips. Large spotted-tailed quolls compete directly with Tasmanian devils for food.

They breed only once a year, in early winter, with females giving birth to up to six young after a gestation period of 21 days. After about 10 weeks the young are left in grass-lined dens located in burrows or hollow logs, leaving the female free to hunt and forage. Towards the end of November, when the young are 18 to 20 weeks old, they are weaned and become independent of their mother. They reach sexual maturity at one year.

They are fully protected in Tasmania.

• Where to find them.