Critically Endangered Eastern Quolls Released in Victoria

A 1000-hectare merino sheep farm, Tiverton, was the site of the release of eight eastern quolls in late July 2022, all of them with babies in their pouches. The eastern quoll was considered extinct on the Australian mainland from the 1960s, but dedicated captive breeding programs and fenced sanctuaries have steadily supported the population, which was effectively wiped out by invasive foxes.

Founded by friend of Small Giants and impact investing legend, Nigel Sharp, the Environmental charity Odonata Foundation and Mount Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre – Victoria’s largest feral predator-free ecosystem – have collaborated on the captive breeding program that has worked for seven years to re-establish eastern quolls on the Australian mainland, bred from a quoll population in Tasmanian. Small Giants is proud to support their vital work, which contributes to the ongoing biodiversity on our continent. Invasive predator species including cats and foxes have devastated native populations of our small marsupials – many beyond salvation. The work of organisations including Mount Rothwell and Odonata are vital for our collective future.

Our hope is that the health of the ecosystem will be restored with the release of eastern quolls in this area of western Victoria, where they were once abundant. Living in a time of what’s become known as The Sixth Extinction (mass-extinction of species), saving each one is critically important. Every creature is a brick in the wall of our shared flourishing. There is no time to waste.

At Small Giants, we support human and planetary flourishing in all its forms. Learn more about Building a Business that Supports Biodiversity, written by Nigel Sharp, or watch the release of the Eastern Quolls with ABC News.

Images: Eastern Quoll release, Tiverton Farm. Courtesy of Odonata Foundation, Annette Ruzicka and Pete James