Ecologists working at a remote Western Australian sanctuary recently found something that stopped them cold: a litter of tiny, spiky newborns tucked inside a mother’s pouch.
These were not ordinary animals. They were western quolls — also known as chuditch — a cat-sized carnivorous marsupial that had vanished from the area for about 100 years.
The discovery happened at Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary in the Wheatbelt region on Badimia Country. Australian Wildlife Conservancy teams had been carefully releasing the species since 2023 as the final piece of an ambitious project to restore 10 locally extinct mammals.
A Species Reduced to a Fraction of Its Range
Western quolls once ranged across much of Australia. European settlement, habitat loss, and especially foxes and feral cats drove them into a sharp decline. Today they survive mainly in the southwestern corner of the continent in small, scattered groups.
They play an important ecological role, hunting insects, small reptiles, birds, and other prey. Losing them left a gap in the food web.
At Mt Gibson, the quolls were released outside a large fenced, feral-predator-free area. Ecologists tracked them with radio collars, camera traps, and later drones. They identified individuals by their unique white-spot patterns.
Proof the Reintroduction Was Working
Regular monitoring quickly showed the animals were surviving and settling in. Then came the clearest sign of success: females carrying pouch young.
“Through regular monitoring, we can see that the quolls are doing well in the sanctuary, and finding the first pouch young is a positive sign that they have adapted to their new environment,” said Georgina Anderson, AWC Senior Field Ecologist.
One well-known male named Aang became a regular visitor to camera traps, showing up for bait and even interfering with the equipment. His bold behavior, along with the appearance of the newborns, told researchers the population was establishing itself.
Later surveys went further. A Mt Gibson-born female named Honey Jumble was found carrying four young of her own — the first confirmed second-generation (grandchild) litter. Original releases had become grandparents.
What We Know

Western quolls (chuditch) were reintroduced to Mt Gibson starting in 2023.
Roughly 83 animals were translocated from wild and captive sources.
The first pouch young appeared within months of the early releases.
Independent juveniles were later confirmed via camera traps and unique spot patterns.
Second-generation young have now been recorded.
Survival of tracked animals has been strong enough for the population to expand beyond sanctuary boundaries in some cases.

Why This Matters
Americans watching from across the Pacific may see this as a distant wildlife story. It is also a rare piece of good news in a world full of extinction headlines.
Native predators disappearing leaves ecosystems unbalanced. Successful reintroductions like this one show that determined, science-based work — fencing, predator control, careful monitoring, and patience — can reverse local extinctions.
The spiky newborns in that pouch are more than cute. They are living evidence that a species once written off in this landscape is reclaiming it, one generation at a time.