The western quoll is a carnivorous marsupial of forests and woodlands in south-west Western Australia. It has white spots and is active at night.
It has a brownish coat marked with white spots and a long tail.
Researchers studied two prey species after western quolls were reintroduced at a conservation reserve in South Australia. They compared predator-naïve burrowing bettongs and spinifex hopping mice exposed to quolls with animals that had not been exposed.
Quoll-exposed bettongs spent less time in inattentive foraging, but did not distinguish predator from non-predator cues. Exposed hopping mice changed their foraging in open habitat and showed greater wariness toward quoll stimuli. The study found only weak evidence that either response improved avoidance of introduced cats.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
After exposure to western quolls, the two prey species showed different behavioral changes. The experiment found general antipredator responses, but only weak evidence that these changes improved responses to introduced cats.