A species once teetering on the brink of extinction suddenly had new hope. Biologists in Australia were overjoyed to find evidence that their efforts to help the species reproduce had succeeded.
At Mount Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary, ecologists discovered a litter of young, spiky animals. These weren’t just any creatures—they were western quolls, a rare marsupial carnivore.
Once widespread across Australia, western quolls—also known as chuditchs—saw their populations plummet after European settlement. Today, they survive in small, scattered groups in the country’s southwest. This discovery marks a crucial step in reviving a species that is roughly the size of a domestic cat but plays a vital role in its ecosystem.