Northern quolls get smart about cane toads

Marthakal Ranger Bruce Lirrwa with a northern quoll on Astell Island. PHOTO: JOHN WOINARSKI

WORK to bring cane-toad smart northern quolls back to Kakadu’s Mary River district is taking a major step forward, with quolls being collected on Astell Island off the north-east Arnhem Land coast.

A team from the Territory Wildlife Park is working with Marthakal Rangers from Galiwin’ku, Dhimurru Rangers from Nhulunbuy and scientists to collect up to 100 northern quolls from the remote island.

TWP will then train the marsupials to become cane-toad smart before releasing them into Kakadu later next year.

Scientists from the Flora and Fauna Division of the Northern Territory Department of Land Resource Management are also working with Kakadu rangers to assess the suitability of the release site in Kakadu, and will assist with the long term monitoring of the trained quolls.

"We know the cane-toad smart program works, with each generation now learning from the next"

Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt said the Australian Government had invested $200,000 in the project, on the advice of Threatened Species Commissioner Gregory Andrews.

He said the action represented “real progress” to deliver on the Kakadu Threatened Species Strategy announced late last year.

“The Australian Government has committed $750,000 to kick-start the Kakadu Threatened Species Strategy, with cane-toad smart quolls being one of the major projects,” Minister Hunt said.

“The strategy is a major change in Kakadu’s approach to managing threatened species. It’s proactive, practical action with a focus on on-ground work to conserve native species while reducing threats.

“We know the cane-toad smart program works, with each generation now learning from the next. This expansion of the program is building on highly successful research conducted in Kakadu since 2010.”

Threatened Species Commissioner Gregory Andrews said he was thrilled to see the project progress to the point where cane-toad smart quolls could return to Kakadu by 2016.

“I’m also thrilled that the many partners on this project, including Parks Australia, researchers like Dr Jonathan Webb and the Territory Wildlife Park, have worked together so quickly and collaboratively to bring it to reality,” Mr Andrews said.

TWP curator Dion Wedd, part of the team tasked with finding suitable quolls to take back from Anstell Island, said Northern quolls pounce on anything that moves.

“It’s through this natural instinct that their wild populations have taken a hit since cane toads first came to the Territory,” Mr Wedd said.

“A group of 45 northern quolls were moved to Astell Island in early 2003 as part of the Island Ark project, with a further 19 northern quolls moved to nearby Pobassoo Island – there are now thousands of northern quolls on these two islands, which are free of cane toads.”

The training will be conducted by TWP staff and scientists from the University of Technology in Sydney, the University of Melbourne and Kakadu National Park rangers, with successfully trained northern quolls going to the Mary River region in the southern section of Kakadu National Park.

“Research has shown that by exposing northern quolls to food mixed with the skin of toads and a nausea inducing chemical, they quickly learn to avoid such foods and therefore they learn to avoid cane toads,” Mr Wedd said.

“As the female northern quolls are very nurturing and protective of their young, they teach their young to avoid cane toads and this lesson is passed down to future generations.”