Spotted-tailed quoll thought extinct in South Australia caught at Beachport after 130 years

#Quoll #Beachport #mystery #captured
When farmer Pao Ling Tsai set a trap to catch the predator that was killing his birds, he expected to catch a wild cat or fox. The spotted-tailed bird was last documented in South Australia in the 1880s. The endangered species is the largest marsupial predator on mainland Australia. The endangered species is Australia's largest marsupial predator. National Parks and Wildlife Service will collect DNA to determine where the marsupial came from Instead, he discovered a species of animal last seen in South Australia more than 130 years ago. Mr Tsai, trout farmer from Beachport on the South East coast of South Australia, was shocked to find a spotted-tailed bird , also known as tiger plume, in his trap. The species is considered extinct in South Australia and is endangered on the mainland, with the closest known populations in South East Australia and Queensland. Pao Ling Tsai found a quoll in a trap in his barn. Tasmania is home to larger populations of the spotted-tailed quoll. Mr Tsai said when he went to check his trap in the barn on Wednesday morning, he had "no idea" what the creature was looking at. "I was expecting to find a cat but instead I found this little animal," he told ABC South East. I had no idea what it was at first." A quoll was captured at Beachport in regional SA. Following his incredible discovery, Mr Tsai placed pieces of fish around the cage trap and made a video overnight on Wednesday to see if he could capture s of other birds. "I definitely think there was more; when I went out this morning [Thursday] all the food had been taken," he said. “I gave the video to National Parks and Wildlife to see which animal got the food, but I think it was another quoll or quolls.” Mr Tsai handed over his captured bird, believed to be male, to the National Parks and Wildlife Service , where it underwent DNA testing and a health check by local veterinarian. Limestone Coast ranger Ross Anderson said NPWS was "surprised" by the animal's reappearance in the state after 130 years. Mr Anderson said NPWS would now genetically test the animal "to try to piece together where it might have come from". “We will also be installing some night vision cameras to determine if quolls on that farm or in the Beachport area.” The spotted-tailed bird was treated for mange by a veterinarian after it was captured. However, he said the spotted-tailed bird was "considered extinct" in the region. “There were some anecdotal oral records of local sightings in 1970s and 1980s, but the last official records of spotted wagtails date from 1880s,” Mr Anderson said. “There has been no official documented or photographic evidence of them here for over 100 years.” The ranger added that the species was last recorded in the Burr Mountain forest and near Robe. “One reason they are thought to be extinct in the Southeast is habitat loss, but they can survive anywhere from forests to open fields. "They are an animal that can