Tracks and Traces
Tracks
Spotted-tailed quolls possess five separate toes on both the front and rear feet (unlike some native marsupials where toes may be fused or absent). The front print is smaller than the rear and the padding is less developed. These diagrams are about 1.5x normal size. Tracks based on Triggs (1996).
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| Right Rear Foot Print | Right Front Foot Print |
Note the characteristic clawless first (left-hand) digit and the large pads of the rear foot. These have developed for climbing vertical tree trunks. Often the rear-most pad appears longer.
Scats
Quoll scat look similar in size and shape to a large cat dropping. They are about 50-70mm long by 20-30mm thick and generally contain hair and/or beetle casings which is reflective of the principle components of their diets. The unique feature of quoll scats is that they often appear to be twisted towards the end.
The droppings are usually clustered as quolls defecate in a discrete latrine area. This serves not only as a toilet but as a marker of territory.
Calls
Quolls are said to make a rich blood curdling scream!!! However, it has never been recorded to the best of our knowledge and so no-one really knows what it sounds like. Quolls also make soft grunting sounds when foraging and interacting with other quolls.
*** We have obtained recordings of some of the sounds made by a female quoll. (All sound recordings courtesy of Amber Hooke, Sound engineering by Rhys Parry)
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Alarm screech |
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Soft grunt (amplified) |
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Purring sound |