Meet the tiger quoll (spotted-tail quoll)

January 20, 2023 11:59 PM

Meet the tiger quoll (spotted-tail quoll), a tree-climbing marsupial carnivore. Weighing between 1.8 kilograms to 3.5 kilograms (4lb to 7.7lb), it is the largest of Australia's quolls. Here is a tiger quoll that has had clicker training in a zoo. Here is a wild tiger quoll checking out someone's campsite to see if it can find snacks. Here is a tiger quoll checking out someone's loungeroom. And this is what it sounds like when a tiger quoll is angry and wants some personal space (also contains three adorable baby quolls). And here is a much cuter clucking noise it makes when it isn't angry.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (11 comments total)

I find quolls utterly fascinating - they're such clear evidence of how evolution works. There is an ecological niche for a small predatory mammal - cats, foxes, etc. - in forest and scrub ecosystems, so a marsupial equivalent arises. There are so many ways that quolls are similar to cats or foxes, behaviourally and physiologically, but they're also so weird! That rolling, rumbling gait is much more like a possum or even a wombat, and the clucks and screeches are possum-y too. They're just great.
posted by prismatic7 at 4:14 AM on January 21, 2023 [9 favorites]

Thanks for posting, delightful knowledge, plus I plan to make those "go away" noises.
prismatic7: you said it better. I was gonna go, SQUEEEeee!!! Spotty rat-mouse-cat-possumy, ears! Yay!
posted by winesong at 7:40 AM on January 21, 2023

There is an ecological niche for a small predatory mammal - cats, foxes, etc. - in forest and scrub ecosystems, so a marsupial equivalent arises. There are so many ways that quolls are similar to cats or foxes, behaviourally and physiologically

And of course we used to have Thylacoleo to fill the leopard niche...
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 7:46 AM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

I wish I know, for purely scientific reasons, if they are as soft and fluffy as they look.
posted by The otter lady at 9:08 AM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

I wish I know, for purely scientific reasons, if they are as soft and fluffy as they look

Here's a video of someone patting one (do NOT try this at home, this quoll was almost certainly reared by humans in a zoo as part of a breeding program, wild quolls are far too bitey to pat)
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:25 AM on January 21, 2023 [4 favorites]

Another quoll-ity FPP from cpbc!
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:30 AM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

I wish someone was always there to give me yummy rewards for performing basic daily tasks.
posted by gottabefunky at 10:20 AM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

I have declared these to be cat possums. The press conference is over and I will not be taking further questions.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 10:29 AM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

If you're looking for more quollity content, Dr David Hamilton (nitter) at the Tasmanian Land Conservancy has it
posted by scruss at 11:03 AM on January 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

If one of these fellas nervously approaches an echidna in their lair, and gets too close, would the headline read:

Quailing Quoll Quilled! - Quits Quarters Quickly!
posted by lalochezia at 11:57 AM on January 21, 2023 [3 favorites]

This is a whole new quoll-game, I have never heard of these! Sublime spots!
posted by Oyéah at 2:39 PM on January 21, 2023