Staff at an Aussie pub knew something was breaking into their kitchen, but no one imagined that the intruder was a wild stowaway from 700km away. “They hadn’t physically seen it, but they knew something was getting into the premises,” local animal rescuer Jen Louw told Yahoo News. The creature was only identified when she was sent a grainy snippet of CCTV, showing a cat-sized predator scampering between shelves in the early hours of the morning.
“I said it looks like a quoll, but we need to confirm it with better footage,” she said. Would you have been able to identify the species in the video below?
Incredible coincidence after intruder filmed in pub
The reason Jen wanted clearer pictures was that the footage was from the Redland Bay region, part of greater Brisbane, a city teeming with trucks and cars but not marsupial predators. Jen volunteers for Koala Rescue Redlands and Surrounds, and the group had never had a call about a northern quoll before. The closest known population of this species is around 700km north, near Rockhampton.
Then something odd happened. Jen got a second call about a wayward quoll 5km away. “I thought, this can’t be a coincidence, it’s got to be the same one,” she said. Race to capture quoll after second sighting
A report was made that a quoll was hiding inside the engine bay of a Ford Ranger ute. “It obviously realised that cars are warm,” Jen said. This time, the animal had been clearly photographed, and Jen was 100 per cent certain it was a quoll. She suspected it was the same animal seen earlier, and it had taken the most Aussie trip ever — hitchhiking inside a ute from the pub to a bloke’s home for a sleep.
“I went out that night and tried to capture it by hand,” Jen said. “But they’re very fast, aggressive creatures, and we couldn’t get it.”
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The man was happy to leave his vehicle behind at the site, while Jen and her team tried to capture it using a trap instead. Have you spotted an unusual creature in your town? Contact [email protected]
Quoll becomes angry after being lured by rescuers
Knowing that northern quolls are attracted to “stinky” foods, the team tried animal hearts and later sardines inside a trap. When he was finally caught, there was celebration among the wildlife workers, but the quoll was less than impressed. “He was very p***ed off,” Jen quipped. “Their call is this intimidating snarl or hiss, and they’re naturally very aggressive.”
Why tiny predator species is increasingly rare
Queensland’s environment department (DETSI) believes the quoll likely hitchhiked to Brisbane inside a truck back in March. After the animal was captured and then treated at Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, it was transported back to Rockhampton and released. You can watch the moment it ran free below.
The northern quoll is listed as endangered, and there are fears it could soon become extinct in the wild due to frequent poisoning by invasive cane toads, which are continuing to expand their territory. DETSI senior ranger Leigh Deutscher said with numbers so low, the release of the stowaway back into its homeland “plays a crucial role in maintaining their populations”.
“We don’t believe the quoll was purposefully brought to Brisbane; this was a very rare situation, but it’s an important reminder that it can happen,” she said. “Anyone who finds sick, injured or orphaned wildlife should contact the RSPCA on 1300 ANIMAL immediately so that they can get the help they need.”
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