Chuditch or Western Quoll


Apperance
 The Chuditch is also known as the Western Native Cat or Western Quoll. The chuditch is distinguished by a absence of spots on its 250 millimetre tail and it has a first toe on the hindfoot.It is covered in a thick brown fur dotted with white spots. It has large whiskers on its pointy nose. It has wide round black eyes on its whitish brown face and it has medium pointy ears.The front paw has five toes each with a long claw, rough fleshy pads provide grip for climbing trees.  A back paw has a very small clawless first toe and four larger toes with long claws with the rough fleshy pads for good grip. They use there paws for running, climbing, digging and holding food. This Carnivorous marsupial can maintain its body temperature and normal activity can continue even when the outside temperature is 0 degress C.

                          
Weight
The Chuditch weighs 0.7 - 1.3 kg.
Length
The chuditch is average 326 millimetres in length and a 250 millimetre tail.

Habitat
Its original habitat was quite broad, ranging from desert to sclerophyll forest. Today it is found in eucalypt forest such as jarrah, and in the mallee, but it previously lived also in the sand dune region of arid central Australia. Although they spend much of there time on the ground they are very good climbers and may spend some time in the trees. Quolls are usually only active at night and sleep in a den during the day. They may dig burrows as well as use logs or caves for dens.

Eating and Diet Habits
Quolls usually feed at night, they are very active and move about constantly looking for food both on the ground and in trees. Its diet consists of insects and small vertebrates, including frogs, lizards, birds, hopping-mice and carrion. In settled areas it will raid poultry runs and rubbish bins. Quolls are probably the best known carnivors.Quolls will also eat plant seeds and fruits.T he western native cat doesn't lose much body water, even if high environmental temperatures are encountered. It appears to get sufficient fluid without drinking if it is on a diet of fresh meat.

Predators
The chuditch does not have many predators since it is a carnivore itself, but it is still attacked by foxes, feral cats and dingoes occassionly.

Breeding Habit
They are a mammal and feed there young on milk, when they are born they are covered in fur and live for sometime in their mothers pouch where their are teats for their milk supply. Young Quolls - are marsupials that only partly develop inside their mother, up to 30 are born at once, at birth they crawl into their mothers pouch and feed on her milk to finish developing, usually in winter and autumn. At birth they are blind, hairless and about 7mm in length and weigh less than one gram.
Their is only 6 teats to supply milk so only the first six to reach a teat will survive.They look after them selves by the time they are 18 weeks old.
                                                   

Numbers
The main known populations in the jarrah forest; total 2500-4400.

Locations
In 1992 it was reported to be restricted to the southwest of Western Australia below 31 deg South, with the main known populations in the jarrah forest with isolated populations in, and to the east of the wheatbelt.

Problems

Solutions