marsupial marten. Lifestyle and habitat of the marsupial marten

Many species of flora and fauna have been introduced, gradually dying out according to different reasons. This category includes one of the largest marsupial predators living on Australian continent, marsupial marten.

She is ranked second in size after. Otherwise, it is also called a marsupial cat. The marten acquired these names because of its many similarities, both with and with the cat. They are also called native cats. marsupial marten feeds flesh, so she, along with the devil, are considered natural predators.

Description and features of the marsupial marten

Average adult length speckled marsupial marten ranges from 25 to 75 cm. Her tail stretches another 25-30 cm. The male is usually larger than the female. In females spotted marsupial martens there are 6 nipples and a pouch for the offspring, which become larger during the breeding season.

At other times, these are just slightly noticeable folds on the skin. They open back towards the tail. Only one species spotted marsupial marten the brood bag is kept intact throughout the year.

This peculiar animal has a long muzzle with a bright pink nose and small ears. In the photo of marsupial marten her fur is striking. It is brown or black with whitish spots, short.

Differs in the increased density and simultaneous softness. On the belly of the marten, the tone of the wool is lighter, it is white or light yellow. The coat on the tail is fluffier than on the body. The color of the muzzle of the animal is dominated by red and burgundy tones. The limbs of the marten are small with well-developed fingers.

Spotted marsupial marten of Australia - this is the most large view martens . Her body reaches up to 75 cm in length, the length of the tail is added to it, which is usually 35 cm.

Her tail is also evenly covered with white spots. The forested areas of the Eastern and the Tasmanian Islands are the most favorite places this animal. It's ferocious and strong predator.

One of the smallest is considered the striped marsupial marten, whose length together with the tail is only 40 cm. It can be found in the lowland forests of New Guinea, on the islands of Salavati and Aru.

Lifestyle and habitat

This interesting animal makes its shelters in the hollows of fallen trees, which it insulates with dry grass and bark. They can serve as a shelter and cracks between stones, empty holes and other abandoned corners that they find.

Martens show their activity to a greater extent at night. In the daytime, they prefer to sleep in secluded places where extraneous sounds do not reach. They can easily move not only on the ground, but also on trees. There are frequent cases when they can be found near human dwellings.

The black-tailed marsupial marten prefers to lead a solitary lifestyle. Each adult has its own purely personal territory. Often the area belonging to males intersects with the area of ​​females. They have one area for toilets.

Speckled marsupial marten also prefers nightlife day. At night it is much easier for them to hunt mammals and look for their eggs and feast on them. Sometimes they eat animals thrown out by the sea.

Those martens that get close to farms can ruthlessly strangle animals, and sometimes even steal directly from the kitchen. local resident meat, fats and other food supplies.

Martens have a crouching and very cautious gait, but at the same time sharp and lightning-fast movements. They prefer to move on the ground rather than in the trees. But if the situation requires it, then they deftly move along the tree and quietly, imperceptibly approach their prey.

With increased heat, animals try to hide in secluded cool places and wait out the time of the scorching sun. The speckled marsupial marten lives in the sandy plains and hilly areas of Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania.

Food marsupial marten

As already mentioned, marsupial martens are predatory animals. They love the meat of birds, insects, shellfish, fish and other amphibians. It is important that their prey is not too large sizes.

Large and tough only for martens of large sizes. Animals do not refuse carrion either. This happens at a time when food is very tight. Sometimes the animals dilute their daily diet with fresh fruit.

During the hunt for prey, martens stubbornly pursue their prey and pounce on it, closing their jaws on the animal's neck. From such a stranglehold it is already impossible to escape anywhere.

Often, marsupial martens' favorite delicacy is homemade, which they steal from farms. This prank is forgiven by some farmers, they even tame them and make them pets.

Martens that live at home are happy to exterminate and. They replenish their water balance with food, so they do not drink too much.

Reproduction and lifespan

The breeding season for marsupial martens falls on the months of May-July. These animals breed once a year. Pregnancy lasts about 21 days. After that, from 4 to 8 babies are born, sometimes more.

There was one case when one female gave birth to 24 cubs. Up to 8 weeks, babies are fed breast milk. Until 11 weeks old, they are completely blind and defenseless. From 15 weeks of age, they begin to taste meat. Toddlers can live an independent life at 4-5 months. By this age, their weight reaches up to 175 g.

In the photo, young marsupial martens

The cubs stay in the female's pouch for up to 8 weeks. At the 9th week, they move from this secluded place to the mother's back, where they remain for another 6 weeks. Puberty in these amazing animals occurs at 1 year.

The life expectancy of martens in nature and captivity is not very different. They live approximately 2 to 5 years. The number of these animals is significantly reduced due to the vital activity of people, who every year more and more destroy the area of ​​​​their existence. Many martens are killed by disgruntled farmers, leading them to extinction.

(Dasyurus viverrinus ) - an animal the size of a small cat; body length - 45 cm, tail - up to 30 cm, weight - up to 1.5 kg. Fur color varies from black to yellowish brown; white spots cover the entire body, except for the fluffy tail, which has a white tip. The muzzle is pointed. Unlike other types spotted marsupial martens, the quoll lacks first toes on its hind limbs.

Speckled Marten in the Moscow Zoo

Quolls were once common in the southeastern australia, but after the epizootic - 1903 and as a result of uncontrolled extermination, their numbers began to decrease, and now they have practically disappeared on the continent (the last quolls were seen in the suburbs Sydney Vaucluse in the 60s. XX century); however, they are still common in tasmania. Quolls are found mainly in moist rainforests, in river valleys, where the rainfall exceeds 600 mm per year; although until the 1930s In the 20th century, they could often be found in gardens and even attics of suburban houses. The way of life is solitary and nocturnal. They usually hunt on the ground, but they are good at climbing trees. The main food of the quoll is insect pests. After colonizing Australia, they began to hunt poultry, rabbits, rats and mice and were exterminated by farmers for ruining poultry houses. The main food competitor of the quoll is

Systematics of the genus Spotted marsupial martens:

Species: Dasyurus albopunctatus Schlegel, 1880 = New Guinea marsupial marten

Species: Dasyurus geoffroii Gould, 1841 = Black-tailed marsupial marten, Geoffroy's marsupial marten

Species: Dasyurus hallucatus Gould, 1842 = Northern marsupial marten

Species: Dasyurus maculatus Kerr, 1792 = Spotted-tailed marsupial marten, or tiger cat

Species: Dasyurus spartacus Van Dyck, 1987 = Bronze marsupial marten

Species: Dasyurus viverrinus Shaw, 1800 = Speckled marsupial marten

Spotted marsupial martens (marsupial cats) are quite widespread in Australia, on the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The genus of these marsupials, outwardly similar to cats and martens, combines six species.
For spotted marsupial martens, the characteristic body length is 25-74 cm, and the tail is 20-40 cm, sometimes 60. Weight, depending on sex, varies from 1 to 3-6 kg. The females in this genus are somewhat smaller than the males. The head is small and blunt or pointed and short (depending on the species). The ears are small or medium in size. The presence of the first toe on the hind legs is characteristic (except for the species Speckled marsupial marten), as well as plantar cushions - in spotted and pygmy marsupial martens. The molars, as well as the canines, are very well developed. The number of teeth is 42. The first upper incisor is sometimes separated by space from other incisors. Canines and molars are strongly developed. The number of chromosomes in the diploid set is 14.

Russian name– Speckled marsupial marten (quoll)

Latin name– Dasyurus viverrinus

English title – Eastern quoll (Eastern native cat)

Detachment– Predatory marsupials (Dasyuromorphia)

Family– Predatory marsupials (Dasyu idae)

Genus- Spotted marsupial martens (Dasyurus)

The Latin name for this species is Viverrinus dasyurus, which translates as "a ferret-like animal with a fluffy tail."

The status of the species in nature

The species is listed in the International Red Book as close to a vulnerable position UICN (Near threatened).

Is under protection federal law, although in the state of Tasmania, where the species is still common, the law on its protection has not yet appeared.

The main enemies of quolls are stray cats, which actively compete with them for food and displace marsupial martens from their usual habitat. Dog attacks, death under the wheels of cars, illegal hunting using poisoned baits and traps also contribute to the decline in the number of the species. Yet the reasons for the extinction of speckled marsupial martens in the Australian mainland are not completely clear. The biology of the species has been studied quite well, but the same cannot be said about the diseases of these animals. Among other things, outbreaks of diseases in 1901-1903 led to a sharp decrease in the number of the species.

Perhaps in Tasmania, the view saved from complete disappearance the fact that there are no dingoes or foxes in this state.

In the Australian mainland (Nielsen Park in the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse), the last specimen of the spotted quoll (hit by a car and killed) was received on January 31, 1963. Until 1999, the National Conservation Service was repeatedly reported that the animals were seen in the vicinity of Sydney, but these data are not documented. Quolls caught west of Melbourne, Victoria, are most likely associated with a nearby research center for conservation - they were either animals that had escaped from this center, or their descendants. In 2015, a small group of quolls were released for reintroduction in a protected area near Canberra (mainland).

View and person

For the first time, a description of the speckled marsupial marten appeared at the end of the 18th century and was given by the traveler James Cook.

After the colonization of Australia, the quolls began to hunt poultry, rabbits, and although rats and mice also became their victims, farmers still exterminated them for ruining poultry houses. Less than a hundred years ago, back in the 1930s, speckled marsupial martens were frequent guests in the gardens of Australians and even settled in the attics of suburban houses.

Distribution and habitats

In the past, the species lived both in Tasmania and in continental Australia - including South Australia (from the southern tip of the Flinders Range to the Fleurieu Peninsula), the states of Victoria and New South Wales to the middle of the northern coast. Currently, the range has decreased according to various sources by 50-90%. Currently, wild quolls remain only in Tasmania and on the island of Bruny in the Tasman Sea (where the species was introduced). In Tasmania, quolls are quite common, but even there their distribution is rather patchy.

Appearance

The quoll is a medium-sized animal, compared to a cat in size. It is not surprising that the widespread English name species and is translated: "Eastern native cat." Body size in males is 32-45 cm, females are slightly smaller - 28-40 cm. Tail length in males is 20-28 cm, in females from 17 to 24 cm. Males also weigh a little more: from 0.9 to 2 kg, then as the weight of females from 0.7 to 1.1 kg.

These are animals with a long body, short limbs. The four-toed hind limbs lack first toes, which distinguishes quolls from other species of spotted marsupial martens. The head is narrow, conical with a pointed muzzle and erect, rounded ears.

The color of the soft thick fur can vary, from almost black to quite light. There are two color variations: one is lighter, yellowish yellowish with a white belly, the other is dark, almost black, with a brownish belly. Light coloration is more common, but within the same litter, pups can be colored differently. Whatever the color of the fur, all over the body, except for the tail, the quolls have a pattern in the form of white spots with a diameter of 5 to 20 mm. The tail is long, fluffy, with a white tip.

Females have a comparatively fur-covered shallow pocket formed by skin folds. AT mating season the pocket increases, 6 or 8 nipples become visible inside, which lengthen and begin to function only if a cub is attached to it. After the babies leave the pouch, the nipples decrease in size again.

Lifestyle and social behavior

Quolls prefer to live alone. These are nocturnal predators that hunt on the ground and in general, although they climb trees very well, where they are more likely to skip.

Quolls spend daytime in burrows, crevices between rocks, or tree cavities. Their burrows are simple, without branches and a second exit, although sometimes more complex ones are found, with one or more nesting chambers lined with grass. Each quoll has several burrows, usually no more than five, and uses them in turn.

The animals try to avoid each other, although sometimes the researchers met pairs of two sexually mature females. Individual plots are large and average 35 hectares for females and 44 hectares for males, and in the mating season, the plot area of ​​males increases sharply. The owners mark the boundaries of the site with scent marks.

Adults scare away aliens by hissing at them and making various sounds. If for some reason the uninvited guest does not leave immediately, the owner moves from preventive measures to attack - rising on his hind legs, he pursues the enemies and tries to bite.

Feeding and feeding behavior

Quolls are predators whose main food is insects, mainly beetle larvae. However, quolls do not have a narrow food specialization; small animals, birds, lizards and snakes often become their prey. After colonizing Australia, they began to hunt poultry, rabbits, rats and mice, and farmers exterminated them for ruining poultry houses. They have also been known to scavenge for leftover food from another predator, the Tasmanian devil, deftly snatching small pieces right from under the noses of larger devils. Quolls have a very close relationship with this species: tasmanian devil(along with introduced foxes, feral dogs and cats) is the quoll's main food competitor. The quolls themselves serve as prey for the Tasmanian devils and Australian barn owls.

Although animal foods form the basis of the quoll diet, their diet still includes a vegetable supplement - animals. all year round willingly eat the green parts of plants, and in summer time feast on ripe fruits.

Vocalization

Aggressive quolls hiss, make sounds resembling coughing, as well as shrill sharp cries - alarm signals.

Mothers and cubs communicate with each other by making quieter sounds.

Reproduction and rearing of offspring

Quolls breed at the beginning of winter, from May to August. After pregnancy lasting 20-24 days (on average 21 days), the female gives birth to 4-8 cubs. There are sometimes up to 30 cubs in a litter,

However, she has only 6 nipples in her pouch, so only the first newborns survive - those who managed to get to the pouch and grab the nipples first. After 8 weeks, the cubs leave the bag and the females hide in the den for the duration of the hunt. If necessary, the female carries them on her back. At the age of 10 weeks, the babies leave the bag, and the female leaves them in a grass-lined hole or shallow hole, and she begins to move away to hunt or find some food. If for some reason you need to move to another hole, the female carries the cubs on her back.

At the age of five months, around the end of November, when there is enough food, the young begin to feed on their own. While the female takes care of the children, their mortality rate is quite low. However, the grown animals scatter, and in the first months of independent life, many die.

Quolls reach sexual maturity by the end of the first year.

Lifespan

Life expectancy in nature is up to 3-5 years. The maximum recorded lifespan in captivity is 6 years and 10 months.

Animal in the Moscow Zoo

Speckled marsupial martens appeared in the Moscow Zoo quite recently, in 2015. Before that, there were no quolls in any of the Russian zoos.

To save the speckled marsupial martens from extinction, it was decided to try to learn how to keep and breed them in captivity. This was done by zoologists at the Leipzig Zoo (Germany). Their work was crowned with success - their quolls breed regularly and feel great. A few years ago, our employees were in Leipzig, and they liked these cute marsupials so much that they began to find out if they could get them in the Moscow Zoo. It turned out not to be so easy. After all, in order to get approval for the maintenance of a certain type of animal, the zoo must first prove that it is able to create all the necessary conditions for it. As for the quolls, for example, it was very important for them not to disturb the light regime characteristic of Australia, since otherwise the females of this species would stop breeding. The Moscow zoo was able to fulfill all the requirements of the German colleagues, and was put in a queue: we were far from the only applicants for these rare marsupials, because apart from Leipzig, Eastern quolls are kept in only a few European zoos. They have not yet been brought to our country, and the Moscow Zoo was the first among all Russian zoos to receive speckled marsupial martens.

Quols arrived to us in June 2015. And six of them! Two males and four females, one of which has already reached old age and could hardly participate in reproduction. When the animals arrived in Moscow, their breeding season was already coming to an end. But to our surprise, mating was recorded after some time, in marsupial martens it can last up to several hours, so it is not difficult for zookeepers who regularly check their pets to notice it. During mating, the male holds the female by the sides with his front paws, and grabs the withers with his teeth, and so tightly that the female has hair on her neck and even a small wound may form (for Australian colleagues, this is a sign of successful mating). After mating, we put the female separately so that no one bothered her. The duration of pregnancy in eastern quolls is 20-24 days, like all marsupials, young quolls are born with a size of only 5 mm and a weight of 12.5 mg. Somehow, these "almost embryos" manage to crawl into their mother's pouch on their own. And in July we saw the cubs already in the bag! They were so tiny that at the first check of the bag, being afraid to disturb the young mother for a long time, we could not even count them. Subsequently, it turned out that there were five cubs, and some of them are black, some are brown (which is not surprising, because their mother is brown and their father is black). Qualos can have up to 30 embryos, but since the female has only six nipples, she can feed no more than six babies. So it turns out that only those cubs survive who manage to get to the mother's pouch first. Each one attaches to its own nipple and stays in the pouch for about 60-65 days. Wool in babies appears at the age of 51-59 days; eyes open at 79-80 days; teeth begin to erupt at about 90 days. From about 85 days, when the cubs are already completely covered with hair, but still dependent on their mother, they begin to go hunting with her at night. At the same time, they often cling to the back of the female, but gradually the coordination of their movements improves, and they become more and more independent. At the age of 105 days, the cubs begin to eat solid food, but the female continues to feed them with milk until 150-165 days. In nature, the mortality of cubs is very low while they remain with their mother, but increases sharply in the first 6 months of their independent life. By the end of the first year, young quolls become sexually mature. In general, their lifespan is relatively short compared to placental mammals of the same size. In zoos, marsupial martens live up to 5-7 years, but in nature they live no more than 3-4. So, females of 1-2 years of age usually take part in breeding (at 3 years old they are already considered elderly).

Now all five of our cubs look almost like adults. They have become completely tame - however, they trust only those people who feed them. Now at the exposition in the "Night World" you can see three young very active males.

We offer you a poem dedicated to the quoll by the Australian poet David Wonsbrough from the collection " living alphabet Australia".

The marsupial marten KWOLL is a great aristocrat.

He found an area to his liking where he was happy to live.

He lived in Vaucluse*, according to the “all inclusive” system **.

But times have changed - and how terrible life has become!

Around stray cats, and with the onset of darkness

There are so many cars that Quoll panics:

“Look, they will play football with me like a ball.

And these cats are nasty - well, what a mess, without a bag!

Come here, you idiots."

Quoll sighs in distress: “My thought is simple:

I'm afraid this rabble will ruin the best places!”

*Vaucluse is an area in Sydney where quolls were still found in the 1960s.

**All inclusive - all inclusive.