There is now hope for a species that was on the brink of extinction.<\/p>\n
A group of researchers in Australia is thrilled after their efforts to propagate the species seem to have succeeded.<\/p>\n
Recently, ecologists at the Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary in Australia made a stunning discovery.<\/p>\n
In the sanctuary, they found a litter of newborn and spiky little creatures.<\/p>\n
But these are not just any creatures. They belong to the species \u201cwestern quolls,\u201d which are a specific type of marsupial carnivore.<\/p>\n
Previously, the species was scattered throughout Australia, but since the first Europeans began populating Australia, the population of the species has dramatically declined.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, the western quolls, also known as chuditchs, are only found in the southwestern corner of Australia, and only in small clusters.<\/p>\n
This species of marsupial grows to about the size of a cat and plays a significant role in the ecosystem. They help control populations of smaller invertebrates, as well as certain reptiles and birds.<\/p>\n
New hope
\nOver the past few months, researchers have been working to reintroduce the marsupials to the Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary, an area where they had previously been extinct.<\/p>\n
Now, with the recent discovery of baby marsupials, it\u2019s clear that the researchers have succeeded. It seems that the animals are thriving there and have no issues reproducing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough regular monitoring, we can see the quolls are doing well at the sanctuary and encountering the first pouch young is a positive sign that they have adjusted to the new environment,\u201d said Georgina Anderson, AWC Senior Field Ecologist.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne quoll that we\u2019ve named Aang is a regular at camera traps we set up at the release sites. He is one of our largest and most striking quolls with a personality to match \u2013 often making rounds of multiple sites to collect the chicken we use as lures and disrupting our bait canisters,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
#GOODNEWS: Ecologists at Mt Gibson, on Badimia and Widi Country in WA, have made an adorable discovery\u2026 The sanctuary\u2019\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There is now hope for a species that was on the brink of extinction. A group of researchers in Australia is thrilled after their efforts to propagate… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n