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Key points: The eastern quoll is extinct on mainland Australia

The eastern quoll is extinct on mainland Australia A program reintroducing captive-bred quolls has found the marsupials are not well-equipped to avoid threats in the wild

A program reintroducing captive-bred quolls has found the marsupials are not well-equipped to avoid threats in the wild Of 20 released in NSW, just six have survived but there are promising signs those survivors are adapting to the dangers

Well, if you're an angry eastern quoll, you're probably more likely to survive in the wild.

Research Fellow at the Fenner School of Environment and Society Natasha Robinson has been studying the personalities of quolls to determine if there's a link to survival rates when the captive-bred marsupials are released into the wild.

"Animals that had a higher overall agitation score are linked to a higher rate of survival in the field," Dr Robinson said.

The eastern quoll was wiped out by foxes on mainland Australia more than 60 years ago, and a program is trying to build up a wild population in New South Wales.

Quolls are bred in captivity in Tasmania at Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary and Devils at Cradle and released into the Booderee National Park at Jervis Bay.

"The eastern quoll is considered extinct in the wild on the mainland," Dr Robinson told ABC Radio Hobart.

The species used to be common, but now only exists in the wild in Tasmania.

While there are some eastern quolls in fenced reserves and sanctuaries on the mainland, the program is the first to reintroduce the species into the wild.

Quolls were tested on whether they hissed and bit during handling. ( Supplied: WWF )

The angrier the quoll, the safer

It's hoped the research can be used to improve the survival rate of reintroduced quolls.

Only six of the 20 quolls released in the pilot program in 2018 survived in the national park.

"As you can imagine, these animals are coming from a captive-bred environment where they are fed and sheltered and aren't exposed to any threats," Dr Robinson said.

Foxes, dogs, cars and pythons were responsible for the deaths.

"These quolls are completely naive to all these threats having been raised in a sanctuary," she said.

Quolls are tracked after their release back into the wild. ( Supplied: WWF )

Dr Robinson presented her results to the Ecology Society of Australia conference in Launceston this week.

She observed the quolls throughout different stages of their reintroduction into the wild, including recaptures.

Dr Robinson noted how they reacted to handling, how aggressive they were, and whether they bit or hissed.

"The more reactive and alert, the more likely it's going to survive," she said.

"If we can teach individual animals to be more wary of predators and different threats, they are the ones that have more chance of survival at Booderee."

The program will release 100 quolls over three years, with 40 more released this year.

The eastern quoll became extinct on mainland Australia about 60 years ago. ( ABC News )

Despite the low survival rates during the pilot, Dr Robinson said there was evidence the quolls were adapting their behaviours in the wild to survive.

"Foxes and quolls rarely overlap, except when you find one being eaten by a fox," she said.

Recent video footage showed a quoll hiding in its hole while a fox was in the area and waited for it to leave.

"They can adapt and learn about these environmental threats," she said.

"Each year, we try and take on board what we've learnt in the previous year and make modifications."