First eastern quolls born in Australian wild for half a century

A rare species of marsupial, the eastern quoll, has been born in the wild on the Australian mainland for the first time in more than 50 years. The native animals were once found along Australia's east coast until they were devastated by foxes and disease. Scientists in New South Wales (NSW) reintroduced the species from Tasmania earlier this year and now three females are carrying joeys in their pouches.

The bean-sized babies will stay growing inside the pouches for three months. Nick Dexter, who works for the Booderee National Park where the species was reintroduced, said the development marked an important step.

"There remains challenges ahead to establish a sustainable population, but to have thirty percent of the female quolls produce pouch young from this pilot project is a move in the right direction," he said. "We've been tracking every animal in this project with a GPS collar and... we've been able to quickly discover and manage threats."