Eastern Quoll (Infra red) (Dasyurus viverrinus, Dasyuridae: Dasyurids) Canberra, Australia, Dec 2020 (4K)
The Eastern Quoll is a predatory marsupial the size of a small domestic cat. Historically they occured in southeastern Australia and Tasmania. Predation by introduced predators, especially foxes, is likely to have played a large part in their functional disappearance on the Australian mainland by the 1970's. They remain present in the wild in (fox free) Tasmania. There are two colour morphs of this species, fawn and black, this one is a fawn one. The animal you see here is one of a breeding population reintroduced into Mulligan's Flat NR near Canberra. The area is fenced and managed to keep introduced predators out. Filmed, using a modified camera body without visible light under 860nm infra-red illumination, this cautious animal was not scared of me, following looking at me for a while it then pounced on a cricket or something as a snack before it sauntered off. also see vimeo.com/437298967