Breaking: Quolls. Heat. Hope. And a result you won't expect

We’re thrilled to share exciting news from the Ikara-Flinders Ranges and the incredible resilience continuing to be shown by the reintroduced Western Quoll population.

Recent monitoring by the on-ground team has confirmed what we dared to hope: Western Quolls (Idnya) and Brush-tailed Possums (Virlda) are not only surviving, but thriving – despite enduring one of the harshest and driest summers in recent years.

At the end of March, 162 traps were carefully set across the region over five nights, yielding impressive results:

• 135 Western Quolls were captured, scanned, and safely released – including 81 individuals new to the monitoring team.

• 30 Brush-tailed Possums were also recorded, 12 of them new, matching previous records.

These figures show a growing, self-sustaining population of quolls and possums in a landscape where they were once extinct. The Western Quoll, once roaming across 70% of the continent, had disappeared from arid and semi-arid South Australia – until dedicated reintroduction efforts began in 2014.

This groundbreaking project became the catalyst for the Safer Havens initiative – now a network of 11 interconnected conservation projects spanning the Gawler, Ikara-Flinders, and Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges. It’s a bold, landscape-scale approach to rewilding and species protection, with each site carefully managed to reduce threats from feral predators and restore natural balance. The success of the quoll reintroduction set the benchmark for what’s possible – and is guiding similar efforts across the state.

Together with your support, FAME has proudly helped lead the charge to return these species to their rightful place, in partnership with DEW. This work also protects other threatened species – from the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby to the Purple-spotted Gudgeon – by creating safer havens, managing feral predators, and restoring ecosystems.

For more on the project or to make a donation visit the project page.