It's not often you'd meet a local of this quoll-ity.
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A few months back Scotts Head had a visit from a rare native.
Spotted-tail quolls are the largest carnivorous marsupials to survive on mainland Australia. They are officially listed as vulnerable in NSW, and endangered elsewhere, with only a few thousand thought to still exist.
After receiving the call about the sighting, WIRES member Janet Court and a local resident found the quoll in a tree on the outskirts of town. It appeared uninjured so it was decided to leave it alone and by the following day it had disappeared.
Just ten days later, however, WIRES received a call from National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) ranger Rhys Pacey with another report of a spotted-tail quoll up a tree - this time in a main street.
It appeared to be the same young quoll and, it being unusual for the little guy to be out of his territory for this long, Janet and Rhys thought it best to get a vet assessment.
The young quoll, nicknamed 'Scotty', was very carefully taken to the Macksville Vets where WIRES Nambucca Valley District Coordinator Jennie Simmons was on hand to help while he was sedated and examined.
Scotty was quite undernourished and covered in scratches; it was deduced he'd probably been chased away by older males during the breeding season.
The vet recommended he go into care to build up his strength for the best chance of survival.
With no suitable local facility, permission was sought and granted from NPWS for a 'please help' to Port Macquarie FAWNA volunteer June Le Pla who has a specially adapted quoll aviary.
For three months June diligently tended to Scotty, and brought him back to health.
Rhys and fellow ranger, Allen, recently brought him home to Scotts Head, collecting Jennie on the way, to release the rehabilitated Scotty in a remote location.
After a few tentative sniffs, Scotty shot out of the transport cage and headed straight up the nearest tree - another rescue success story thanks to the united forces of WIRES, FAWNA and NPWS.