Operation Eastern Quoll

AU$40,160
of $40,000 targetyrs ago
Successful on 19th Jan 2018 at 6:00AM.

Returning the eastern quoll

                                                                                                                                                                 

In autumn 2018, we will be embarking on an ambitious program to return the eastern quoll to the wild on mainland Australia. 


The story of the loss of the eastern quoll is a tragedy. In the early 1900's a mysterious epidemic carried off vast numbers of eastern quolls, and as foxes spread across south eastern Australia, their populations were further drastically impacted, with the last mainland eastern quolls being regularly seen in the 1960s in the Sydney and Illawarra region of NSW. 


The eastern quoll is now considered extinct on mainland Australia, and in the wild, now only survives in Tasmania. 


Our mainland ecosystems are missing their eastern quolls and returning them will help to restore a vital component in an ecosystem whose links are millions of years old. 


And we want you to be part of bringing them back.



Why Booderee National Park?


Reintroduction of the Eastern Quoll to Booderee National Park will facilitate research into the effectiveness of invasive predator  management for successful re-establishment of locally extinct species  into open landscapes. The species has only been confirmed as being detected once since the collection of a road killed specimen from Sydney  in 1963, from a specimen collected in 1989 in the Barrington Tops region of NSW. Reports from the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region in the late 1960s and early 1970s have also been documented.



Project Partners


The project is a collaboration between a broad range of program partners who bring their own expertise to the reintroduction - Parks  Australia, Threatened Species Recovery Hub researchers at Australian National University,  WWF-Australia, Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council, Taronga Conservation Society, Shoalhaven Landcare, Rewilding Australia, and Tasmanian Conservation Breeding Program sanctuaries Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary and Devils@Cradle.


Budget Overview

How the Funds Will Be Used


We already have 13 collars for our 20 pioneer quolls. Your support will help fit-out every one the 7 remaining quolls with a GPS collar (costing $20,000), which researchers will use to closely monitor the success of the reintroduced quolls. With your support, we'll know exactly where our quolls are and how they're fairing back in the wild on mainland Australia. Additional funds ($20,000) will be used to providing ongoing 'Off Park' wildlife and invasive species monitoring and management over the next 3 years. Donations beyond our $40,000 target will be used to provide ongoing funding for additional capacity building at partner wildlife sanctuaries.


We're helping Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary and Devils@Cradle to expand, to breed more quolls for future reintroductions.


Potential Challenges

Reintroductions of eastern quolls to mainland Australia to this point in time have only occurred within fenced enclosures. A major impediment to reintroducing the eastern quoll to mainland Australia is introduced predators. Since 2003, Booderee National Park has been subject to intensive feral  predator control with resulting declines in foxes and cats to very low numbers. The Park therefore provides an ideal opportunity to investigate factors determining successful re-establishment of species in  unfenced, predator-managed systems on the mainland, and how reintroduced native predators interact with other species. Members of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community believe that reintroducing this species will help establish a link with the past rich ecological community that supported their ancestors.


No Reward

Thanks for the support - every little bit counts!

Tax Deductible

34 chosen

Tax Deductible Receipt

For all donations $2 and over you'll receive a Tax Deductible Receipt.

30 chosen

Est. delivery is Dec 17

Rewilding Australia supporters bumper sticker

We'll send you a supporters sticker, and also keep you up to date with the reintroduction as it happens!

90 chosen

Est. delivery is Jan 18

Rewilding Australia embroided rangers patch

Display your support on a shirt or backpack with an embroiled patch! We'll also send you all rewards up to $25 level.

61 chosen

Est. delivery is Jan 18

Rewilding Australia supporters cap

You'll get a genuine Rewilding Australia hemp supporters cap + all rewards up to $50 level.

44 chosen

Est. delivery is Jan 18

Rewilding Australia enamel hikers mug

We'll send you a high quality genuine enamel hikers mug with logo + all rewards up to the $100 level.

18 chosen

Est. delivery is Jan 18

Help track our quolls!

Visit the reintroduction site for the day and work with researchers to track the quolls + all rewards up to the $200 level.

12 chosen / 18 available

Est. delivery is May 18

Name a quoll and follow its journey!

You'll receive naming rights for one of our quollls and we'll keep you up to date with the progress of your quoll. What a christmas present for someone you love! + all rewards up to $500 level.

7 chosen / 9 available

Est. delivery is Dec 17

Join the team to help release the quolls!

You'll be invited to join the team to help release the quolls + all rewards up to $1000 level. That's a supporters sticker and patch, a cap, an enamel mug, working with researchers for a day and naming rights for a quoll!

0 chosen / 10 available

Est. delivery is May 18

Be a passenger on the delivery aircraft!

This unique experience would put you into the history books of Australian wildlife conservation and give you an experience to remember forever. Traveling from Launceston and across Bass Strait to the Jervis Bay airfield in a twin propeller jet (a Beechcraft Travel Air), you will accompany the pilot, and help deliver some of the most valuable cargo ever transported in Australia. You'll also receive all rewards up to the $3000 level.

0 chosen / 1 available

Est. delivery is May 18