Tiger quoll seen in Grampians – in first sighting in wilderness area since 1872

A tiger quoll has been spotted in the Grampians national park in Victoria – 141 years after the last confirmed sighting in the area.

The carnivorous marsupial was long thought to be extinct in the vast wilderness area in western Victoria. The first confirmed sighting in 1872 was also the last, with the animal killed in the waters of the Glenelg river.

But Parks Victoria has revealed that a remote camera in the national park, set up to spy on brush-tailed rock wallabies, captured images of a live tiger quoll on 25 September.

The surprise sighting is a rare piece of good news about the native mammal, which is listed as endangered across south-east Australia. The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers the species “near threatened”.

There are an estimated 20,000 remaining tiger quolls, also known as the spotted-tailed quoll, in Australia. Although only the Tasmanian devil rivals the pugnacious species in the marsupial family in terms of size and aggression, numbers have dwindled owing to habitat loss and competition with foxes and feral cats.

Ben Holmes, manager of Parks Victoria’s fox control program, said: "I honestly couldn't believe my eyes when the photos were sent through from our field crew. There is no mistaking the spotted body colour, which can only be a quoll."

Park ranger Ryan Duffy checks a digital camera. Photograph: Parks Victoria

Dave Roberts, the ranger in charge of the national park, added that the discovery was highly exciting.

“We have been undertaking extensive fire management, fox control and other conservation works for decades and this sighting adds to our knowledge and importance of our work to conserve these species,” he said.

“Having a native predator in the system is a great sign that the park is supporting a healthy functioning ecosystem.”

Parks Victoria said it would adjust its camera monitoring to get a clearer picture of how many tiger quolls there are in the area, as well as their distribution.