The World of Quolls Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hairy tail

The quoll's tail is 20 - 35 cm long. They live primarily on the ground. Although they have developed some features which enable them to live in trees, they do not have prehensile tails. The quoll is quite agile and tree climbing is a way for them to escape predators like eagles.

They have a pointed snout with a pink coloured nose; sharp teeth; large, dark eyes; thick,soft fur and a long tail. They somewhat resemble a possum or coati.

Answer: Australia and Papua New Guinea

These are the only two places where quolls are to be found. They are usually found in the forests. Quolls have disappeared from many parts of the Australian mainland due to deforestation, loss of habitat and predation by introduced animals such as the fox.

Answer: Bronze quoll

Of the six species of quolls, two are found in New Guinea - the New Guinea quoll and the bronze quoll. In Australia, the spotted-tailed quoll or tiger quoll can be found along the eastern coast of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria and on the island of Tasmania.

The western quoll or chuditch are found on the south-west tip of Western Australia. Eastern quolls are to be found only in Tasmania. They once occured on mainland Australia but now considered extinct there, although some recent sightings in northern New South Wales suggest that the species may still survive.

The northern quolls are found along the northern coasts of Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. The bronze quoll was discovered in the early 1970s but only described in 1987 and very little is known about it.

Answer: Spotted-tailed quoll

Quolls are about the size of a cat. The spotted-tailed quoll can grow up to 75 cm long and weigh up to 7 kg. Females are smaller measuring up to 45 cm and weighing up to 4 kg. The northern quoll is the smallest and may weigh less than 1 kg.

Answer: Pup

Females breed only once a year in winter unless they fail to find a mate or if they lose their litter early then they will try to breed again. Female western, spotted-tailed and northern quolls have an average of 4-6 pups in a litter; eastern quolls can have up to 30 babies but she has only 6 teats to supply milk.

The babies which cannot attach to a nipple die. Like other marsupials, the young can also be called joeys.

Answer: The size of a grain of rice

Quolls are born about 21 days after mating. Newborns are hairless, blind, about 7 mm long and weigh less than 1 g. At birth, they crawl into the mother's pouch to attach to a nipple and to finish developing. At 7 weeks old, fur develops and the babies are too big for the pouch so from this time on, they stay in the den but continue to feed on their mother's milk. From about 12 weeks, they learn to eat solids and by the time they are 18 weeks old they will leave home and look after themselves. Sexual maturity is reached at one year.

Answer: True

Quolls sleep in a den during the day. Larger quolls use hollow logs or caves as their dens while smaller ones may dig burrows as well as use logs or caves.

Answer: Birds, small mammals, lizards, insects, fruits

Quolls are predators and eat a wide range of food. They hunt and eat mammals like possums and mice, lizards, frogs, birds and insects. Their diet also include plant seeds and fruit. They will also scavenge carcasses. They kill their prey by biting the back of the head or neck.

Answer: Running, climbing, digging and holding food

Quolls spend most of their time on the ground but they also spend some of the time in trees and are good climbers. They use their claws to climb trees but do not use their tails like the possum. Although the 4 species of Australian quolls look almost alike, there is a way of telling them apart.

The northern and western quolls have 5 toes on their back feet; spotted-tailed quolls also have 5 toes on the back feet but it has a very small, clawless first toe and 4 large toes with long claws; the eastern quoll have 4 toes on their back feet.

The paws of the quolls also have rough, fleshy pads which help provide grip particularly when climbing trees.

Answer: Brown with white spots

The spotted-tailed quoll is brown with bold white spots and is the only species of quoll with spots on its tail as well.
The western quoll is mainly brown, with white spots. Its tail is long, largely unspotted, and ends in a brush of long black hairs.
The eastern quoll has fawn or black fur with white spots, and a plain tail,sometimes with a pale tip.
The northern quoll has grey-brown to brown fur with large white spots, and a spotless tail.
The New Guinean quoll is brown with white spots.