A tiger quoll is a spotted, carnivorous marsupial and the largest native marsupial predator on mainland Australia. Also known as the spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), it’s about the size of a domestic cat, though slimmer with shorter legs.

Marsupials are mammals that raise their young in a pouch, and the tiger quoll is the second-largest carnivorous marsupial in the world, after the Tasmanian devil. Their fur ranges from rich reddish-brown to dark brown, with bold white spots across the back and sides and along the tail. It’s the only quoll with a spotted tail. They have a pointed face with a pink nose, sharp teeth, and bright eyes.

In terms of size, males are larger than females (a pattern called sexual dimorphism). Males typically weigh around 3.5 kg (7-8 lb) and females about 1.8 kg (4 lb), though big males can reach 7 kg (15 lb) and large females about 4 kg (9 lb). Body length runs roughly 35-76 cm (14-30 in), with a tail of 34-55 cm (13-22 in), so a big male can measure over 1.2 m (4 ft) from nose to tail tip. The genus name Dasyurus means “hairy tail,” and maculatus is Latin for “spotted.”

Tiger quolls are mostly solitary, each defending a territory, especially from same-sex neighbors. Females hold smaller home ranges; males roam farther and overlap several female ranges. Scuffles break out at boundaries and during the breeding season. Both sexes scent-mark, and many use shared latrines on rocky outcrops, a pungent “message board” that signals identity, territory, and breeding status.

They are largely nocturnal, active from dusk to dawn. By day, they sleep in dens such as hollow logs, rock crevices, burrows, or occasionally abandoned buildings. After sunset, they patrol the forest floor, often covering several kilometers; some travel over 6 km (3.7 miles) in a single night.

Adept on the ground yet excellent climbers, they scramble up trees to escape danger or to raid bird nests and ringtail possum dreys. Hunters often sniff along trunks and climb only when they scent a brushtail possum or glider sheltering in a hollow above. When cornered, quolls may growl or screech and crouch with ears flattened. Their nocturnal habits and camouflage make them rarely seen by people.

Tiger quolls are strict carnivores. In scientific terms, they’re hypercarnivores (over 70% meat), and in practice, their diet is nearly 100% other animals. They take a wide range of prey and are opportunistic: studies record more than 20 mammal species (rodents, rabbits, bandicoots, echidnas, possums, gliders), plus birds, reptiles, amphibians, and large insects.

They hunt by stealth and sudden ambush. A quoll can bring down prey as large as a possum or rabbit. For small animals, it pins them with its forepaws and bites the neck; for larger ones, it may leap onto the animal’s back and deliver a powerful bite to the base of the skull or neck. Relative to body size, their bite force is among the highest measured in mammals; among marsupials, only the Tasmanian devil is higher. That strength helps them subdue robust prey and handle tougher carcass parts. They also scavenge on carrion when the chance arises.

Tiger quolls have a seasonal breeding cycle. In Australia’s winter (April to July), females in heat (estrus) leave scent signals, including urine at shared latrine sites, that draw males from afar. Rival males compete for access, and mating can last several hours, sometimes up to 24 hours in field observations. It is not gentle: the male often grips the female by the back of the neck, which can cause wounds; fatal injuries are rare.

After mating, the male’s role ends. The female carries a short pregnancy of about 21 days and gives birth to 2 to 6 tiny, underdeveloped young, each about the size of a grain of rice. These newborns are called joeys (the marsupial term for babies). They crawl into a pouch that forms only during the breeding season and latch onto nipples to continue developing in a warm, protected space.

Pouch life lasts about 12 weeks (roughly 3 months). Once they outgrow the pouch, the joeys are still dependent. The mother stashes them in a secure den, such as a hollow log, burrow, or rock crevice, while she hunts, nursing and guarding them until about 18 to 20 weeks old (around 4 to 5 months). As they grow, joeys may ride on her back when outside the den. They become independent at about 5 months and soon disperse to find their own territories.

Tiger quolls mature quickly, reaching sexual maturity by one year. Life is short: most live about 3 to 4 years in the wild (occasionally up to 5 for large males) and up to about 6 years in captivity. Fast maturity helps populations rebound when conditions are good, but the brief lifespan still keeps them vulnerable.

The tiger quoll belongs to the carnivorous marsupial family Dasyuridae, which also includes Tasmanian devils, antechinuses, and dunnarts. Quolls arose during the Miocene around 15 million years ago, and the lineages that led to today’s species had split by roughly 4 million years ago. Their cat-like look and hunting style reflect convergent evolution with placental carnivores such as cats and weasels, meaning they evolved similar traits independently rather than through close kinship.

On mainland Australia, tiger quolls once shared forests with larger marsupial predators. They overlapped with Tasmanian devils and the thylacine until those species disappeared from the mainland a few thousand years ago, and earlier with the “marsupial lion” Thylacoleo carnifex, a powerful predator estimated at 100 to 130 kg (220 to 290 lb) that persisted until about 30,000 years ago. The word “quoll” comes from an Aboriginal term recorded by Captain James Cook in 1770; settlers later used “native cat,” but “quoll” was widely revived and adopted in the mid-20th century.

Tiger quolls live only in Australia, mainly in the east and southeast (including Tasmania). They use wet rainforests, moist eucalypt forests, rugged woodlands, and even coastal heath and scrub. They favor high-rainfall, densely vegetated areas with abundant prey and den sites. In mountains, they range up to the snow line in subalpine forests; in lowlands, they often keep to gullies, river valleys, and sclerophyll forests (hard-leaved vegetation). They sometimes hunt along farmland edges or in clearings at night. Even so, they need a nearby forest or dense bush for cover.

Two subspecies are recognized. The southern subspecies, D. m. maculatus, occurs from southern Queensland through New South Wales and Victoria and historically reached eastern South Australia; it also persists in Tasmania, where populations are comparatively healthy. On the mainland, its distribution is now patchier, mostly in higher-rainfall forests along the Great Dividing Range and coastal ranges.

The northern subspecies, D. m. gracilis (the North Queensland tiger quoll), survives in a small area of northeastern Queensland’s Wet Tropics around the Atherton Tablelands and Bellenden Ker ranges. It is much rarer and more isolated than the southern form.

Overall, tiger quolls were once more widespread, but their range is now fragmented. They are presumed extinct in South Australia and very rare in parts of Queensland and Victoria. Conservation work focuses on protecting remaining forests and reconnecting habitats so quolls can move safely between them.