Many Australians have never heard of a chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii) – also known as the western quoll – let alone had the opportunity to see one in the wild. They were once widespread and abundant across all mainland States and the Northern Territory at the time of European settlement, but by the 1970s, they were restricted to the south-west corner of Western Australia.

Project Eden is a bold conservation project that aims to turn back the tide of extinction and ecological destruction in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, Western Australia. Project Eden was inspired by a number of events including Shark Bay’s World Heritage listing in 1991, the creation of Francois Peron National Park, the success of fox baiting research conducted by the then Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM), and early research into fencing and predator exclusion by CSIRO at Heirrisson Prong.

As part of this project, nine wild chuditch have recently been released into Francois Peron National Park in Shark Bay in order to establish a new population of the species that once inhabited the area. The last known specimen in Shark Bay was recorded in 1858, and chuditch bones dating from the past 100 years were found in 2003.

"Many factors have contributed to the decline of the chuditch across Australia, including predation by cats and foxes; habitat loss and degradation; altered fire regimes; and competition for food and resources," said Mr Marmion, the Western Australia Environment Minister.

"Since the early 1990s, DEC and its predecessor, the Department of Conservation and Land Management, have been working to improve the conservation status of the chuditch through increasing existing populations in the South-West and translocations to the animal's former range.

"In 1992, a trial translocation of captive-bred chuditch was undertaken to fox-baited woodland at Julimar, which resulted in the chuditch population establishing and expanding into neighbouring areas, including the army training area.

"Since then several translocations have taken place, including to Kalbarri National Park and Lake Magenta Nature Reserve, south of Newdegate."

"This translocation to Francois Peron National Park is another step towards the chuditch's recovery and improving their conservation status," the Minister said.

"As the chuditch is a native top-order predator, its abundance is linked to the amount of prey and health of the ecosystem, so the results of this reintroduction will help indicate the extent of ecosystem recovery within the park."

The reintroduced animals are micro-chipped and fitted with radio collars to enable monitoring. If the translocated population thrives, DEC plans to introduce up to 40 more chuditch in the next three years.

Chuditch are a carnivorous marsupial and can be identified by their soft brown fur with large white spots, pointed muzzle, large dark eyes and big rounded ears. They are about the same size as domestic cats.

Written by Suze Chalmers

All images supplied. Lead image © Babs & Bert Wells