Dasyurus
Quolls are marsupials (pouch bearing mammals) found in forested the areas of Australia and New Guinea. There are six species in total.
The six species include; bronze quoll, eastern quoll, New Guinean quoll, northern quoll, tiger quoll and the western quoll.
The Tasmanian devil is the closest relative of the quoll.
The largest of the species is the Spotted-tailed quoll which weighs up 7kg (15.4 pounds)
The smallest of the species is the Northern quoll weighing up to 1 kg (2.2 pounds)
Quolls are omnivores feeding mainly on birds, small mammals, snakes, lizards, frogs and insects but will also eat fruits, nuts and grasses.
Quolls have very violent mating rituals which involves a lot of biting, dragging and scratching by the male. Males sometimes become so overpowering to the point where the female might get killed!
After a gestation of only 3 weeks the female gives birth to 4 - 6 pups, seldom up to 20. The pups which are about the size of a grain of rice live in the mothers pouch for 8 weeks before moving onto the mothers back.
Quolls only have 6 teats for pups to feed off resulting in high mortality rates with larger litters.
These fury creatures are nocturnal spending most of their time on the ground but are very capable climbers and will also take cover in hollow trees and caves.
Over the years quoll numbers have dropped significantly mainly due to habitat destruction and the red fox which was introduced into Australia. Other predators include eagles, snakes, and crocodiles.
Another big killer of quolls is the cane toad which was also introduced to Australia to control beetle populations. These toads are highly toxic and quolls that feed on these toads can die from the toxins.
Depending on the species quolls have a lifespan of 2 - 5 years.
