Tiger Quoll Dasyurus maculatus

Quolls, the size of a domestic cat, are carnivorous marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea.

They are mainly nocturnal where persecuted but diurnal where secluded; they are mainly solitary.

All (6 species) are threatened by imported foxes and cats, which compete for food as well as prey on quolls, and by habitat loss. The Tiger Quoll is also at risk from imported, toxic marine toads.

The Tiger Quoll, the largest of the quolls, has a reddish brown coat with white spots and pale underside. It is the only quoll with spots also on its tail and is also known as the Spotted-tail Quoll.

They are solitary and usually stay in burrows in the day, but where not under threat they may be active in daytime. Females have a rear-facing pouch. Typical lifespan is only a few years.

The Tiger Quoll, Australia's largest mainland native marsupial carnivore (the Tasmanian Devil, related to Quolls, is larger), has one of the most powerful bites relative to body size.

The Tiger Quoll is native to Australia's eastern coast from Queensland to Tasmania. The are two subspecies, the nominal from southern Queensland to Tasmania and the highly endangered D. m. gracilis in a pocket of north-eastern Queensland.