Quoll Landbridge Project

Idnya, or Western Quoll Dasyurus geoffroii, became extinct in the Flinders Ranges over 100 years ago due to land clearance by settler pastoralists and invasive predators.  A reintroduction of 53 individuals in Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges National Park in 2014 was accompanied by an intensive program to control the presence of feral predators, notably foxes and feral cats, in the Park and is one of the great conservation success stories in South Australia.  Arkaba Conservancy's own feral control programs have provided conditions where quolls have successfully established in the north-eastern corner of the conservancy bordering the national park.  

The objective is now to encourage quolls to disperse across the property, in particular to the western side on the Elder Range where there is ideal habitat for them.  The challenge is in the central part of the property where extensive sheep grazing has opened up the country and large populations of rabbits have meant a higher number of cats - an effective barrier to quoll dispersal.  With the support of Parks and the South Australia Arid Lands Landscapes Board, Arkaba Conservancy embarked on an extensive program of rabbit warren removal in 2024, with the removal of 1,098 ha, and a significant supply of prey for cats.  Combined with extensive baiting and on ground trapping the vision is to create a land bridge of country between Wilpena Pound and the Elder Range to allow quolls to move through.