Artificial dens will soon be installed in far north Queensland to help boost numbers of a native marsupial known to mate itself to death during breeding season.
Key points:
Its numbers plummeted after the introduction of the cane toad to far north Queensland in 1935, and it is now estimated there are fewer than 100,000 animals remaining in the wild.
The few populations of quolls that are left are fragmented and confined to rocky areas that cane toads struggle to reach.
Researchers believe, however, that many of the northern quolls remaining in Queensland have learnt not to eat cane toads, and they are now experimenting with ways to increase both their populations and range.
https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/101092662
Key points:
- Ecologists will install 12 artificial dens for northern quolls on a wildlife sanctuary in far north Queensland
- Northern quoll numbers have crashed in Australia since the introduction of cane toads in 1935
- Male northern quolls have such a desire to reproduce they run themselves to death in their first breeding season
Its numbers plummeted after the introduction of the cane toad to far north Queensland in 1935, and it is now estimated there are fewer than 100,000 animals remaining in the wild.
The few populations of quolls that are left are fragmented and confined to rocky areas that cane toads struggle to reach.
Researchers believe, however, that many of the northern quolls remaining in Queensland have learnt not to eat cane toads, and they are now experimenting with ways to increase both their populations and range.
https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/101092662