Other Names: Western Quoll, Western Native Quoll
Scientific Name: Dasyurus geoffroii
IUCN Status: Vulnerable
Body Length: 26–40 cm
Weight: 1–2 kg
Gestation: 16 days
Number of young: 2–6

Distribution: South-west Western Australia
Habitat: Sclerophyll forest, dry woodland, mallee shrubland

Description: The Western Quoll, or Chuditch (a Nyoongah name), is Western Australia’s largest carnivorous marsupial. It has 40–70 white spots on its body but not on its tail. The tail is 21–35 cm long.

Diet: The Chuditch is a carnivore and feeds mostly on insects and other invertebrates. It also eats small lizards, birds and mammals.

In the wild: The Chuditch sleeps in hollow logs during the day and hunts at night. This animal is an excellent climber which makes it easier to catch tree-dwelling animals.

Threats: Loss of habitat through land clearing and predation by feral predators, such as foxes and cats, are major threats to the Chuditch.

At Perth Zoo: Perth Zoo has been involved in a very successful breeding program with the Department of Environment and Conservation, which has resulted in the release of five populations of captive-bred Chuditch into feral-proofed environments in Western Australia. This program has been so successful that the status of the Chuditch has been downlisted from endangered to vulnerable.

Perth Zoo does not currently have Chuditch on display.

Did you know? The spotted pattern of the Chuditch’s coat helps to break up its outline in the moonlight, protecting it from predators and masking its movements through woodland.