Eastern Quolls Released into the Wild 

Sydney Zoo has once again released Eastern Quolls into the wild as they work on restoring a species that was once extinct on mainland Australia. On Tuesday 27 January, the four Eastern quoll joeys were released at Bannockburn Rewilding Sanctuary in New South Wales, building on last year’s successful reintroduction project delivered in partnership with the Invasive Species Council’s Rewilding Australia program.

 Once widespread across South-Eastern Australia, Eastern quolls rapidly declined around a century ago, as introduced foxes and feral cats spread out across their habitats. Today, wild populations naturally occur only in Tasmania, making rewilding efforts on the mainland both ambitious and critical. The project forms part of the Eastern Quoll Conservation Coalition, led by the Invasive Species Council, which aims to establish 50,000 hectares of fox-free habitat for Eastern quolls on mainland Australia by 2030. The nearly released Quolls are being monitored by the University of Sydney through tracking technologies to assess their movements, survival and ecological impact. The findings help guide future rewilding efforts with The hope Eastern quolls could one day persist beyond fenced environments.

 Projects like this offer renewed hope that the species can once again thrive across Australia.