15 Endangered Eastern Quoll Joeys Confirmed for 2026

The reveal brought the 2026 tally to 15 Eastern Quoll joeys born, an incredible breeding success for a species extinct on mainland Australia.

Conservation organisation Aussie Ark has conducted a final check of the Eastern Quolls in its intensive breeding habitats in the Species Recovery Unit to discover the third and final potential mother has five tiny joeys in pouch, bringing the 2026 tally to a staggering 15 new adorable joeys.

With winter the breeding season for this iconic species, the organisation conducted its original pouch check in August involving three adult females paired with males in the Species Recovery Unit. Of those three, only two had pouch young totalling 10 joeys. The third female called Lobelia is younger, in her first breeding season, and did not have joeys.

Operations Manager Dean Reid and Wildlife Ranger Laura Chapman continued to monitor Lobelia and her mate over the next two months, and have now conducted a second check.

This revealed five adorable new joeys in Lobelia’s pouch, still attached to teats! Mr Reid and Ms Chapman were thrilled with this result, which brings Aussie Ark’s official tally to 15 new joeys for the 2026 Eastern Quoll breeding season.

“These joeys are even more significant because this year they have been sired by males freshly introduced from the Tasmanian Quoll Conservation Program,” Ms Chapman said. “So they are genetically very valuable for the national conservation effort.”

The Aussie Ark team have monitored the three families closely over the past months, including surveillance with remote sensor cameras. Because the species is nocturnal, this method is optimal to reduce disturbance, and also enables the team to record unique behaviour which is otherwise rarely witnessed. This includes mother quolls emerging from nest boxes with tiny joeys attached to their bellies!

The total of 15 new joeys is a nationally-significant conservation milestone for the species, which has been extinct on mainland Australia for over 50 years due mostly to feral predation. It is now only found in the wild in Tasmania where its population continues to plummet due to habitat loss, road strike, and predation.

The 15 joeys have a bright future in Aussie Ark’s breeding and re-wilding program. Some will be released into the feral-free 400-hectare Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary, whilst others will be transferred to sister organisations across Australia to ensure genetic diversity in the national insurance population safeguarding this species from extinction.

Please help Aussie Ark continue its vital work breeding and rewilding the endangered Eastern Quoll by donating now at aussieark.org.au