The endangered northern quoll thought to have disappeared from Piccaninny Plains Wildlife Sanctuary was spotted after more than eight decades. Photo: Brad Leue.
Researchers were close to giving up hope on one of Australia’s most endangered marsupials when a sighting on Cape York following a hunch changed everything.
An endangered northern quoll was detected at Piccaninny Plains Wildlife Sanctuary for the first time in more than 80 years after ecologists feared the species had vanished from the property.
The cat-sized quoll was captured on a motion-sensor camera on the eastern side of the 164,850-hectare sanctuary, jointly owned by Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and The Tony & Lisette Lewis Foundation.
“It was a fantastic surprise,” AWC wildlife ecologist Dr Helena Stokes said.
“After years of no sightings, to finally confirm a northern quoll on the sanctuary is hugely uplifting for our team.
“It reinforces the importance of persistence, good science, and managing threats across large landscapes.”
The nearest detection of the species was in 2017, when a quoll was captured on a trail camera on the neighbouring Indigenous-managed Kaanju Ngaachi Wenlock and Pascoe River IPA by Chuulangun Rangers.
Once widespread across northern and eastern Australia, northern quoll populations have collapsed due to toxic cane toads, feral predators including cats, inappropriate fire regimes and habitat loss.
Surveys on Piccaninny Plains Wildlife Sanctuary since 2008, including targeted camera deployments in 2015, 2021 and 2023, failed to detect the elusive marsupial.
That changed late last year, when sanctuary manager Nick Stock, following a hunch about an isolated rocky outcrop spotted from a helicopter, deployed a single camera.
Within days, it captured unmistakable evidence of a quoll.
“Every rediscovery matters,” he said.
“Just when we were close to giving up hope, this little quoll reminds us why we keep searching, and why protecting these landscapes at scale is essential.”
Dr Stokes said the rediscovery provided a crucial foothold for understanding how the species might be surviving on Cape York, with early indications suggesting the outcrop remained largely unburnt as a result of AWC’s long-term fire management, and so far, showed no evidence of feral cats on surveillance cameras.
“This record gives us a roadmap — we now have a clear starting point for future surveys and research,” she said.
“It’s possible this quoll, and hopefully others, have adapted their behaviour in response to the presence of cane toads.
“Understanding that resilience could be vital for the species’ long-term survival.”
AWC hopes to expand survey efforts across Piccaninny Plains this year to determine the extent of the population and inform next steps for recovery.
Northern quoll caught on camera at Piccaninny Plains Wildlife Sanctuary. Photo: Supplied.
