Chuditch

Identification

The upper parts of the chuditch are covered in thick, orange-brown and grey fur with white spots scattered over the top of the head and down the back. Its tail is black and furry; it has pink, cat-like ears, a pink nose and pink feet. The hind feet have five toes and granulated pads on their soles. The claws are pinkish-cream and well developed for seizing its prey.

Habitat and distribution

Chuditch used to occur throughout Western Australia, except in the Kimberley, and most of central Australia. Early settlers complained that chuditch would steal domestic chickens from their pens unless they were ‘chuditch-proofed’. Residents of Perth reported them nesting in roofs until the 1930s. Their range gradually reduced until, by the 1970s, they were found only in the jarrah forests of the south-west of Western Australia, a few small populations in the eastern Goldfields and in large wheatbelt reserves. The chuditch is usuallyvnocturnal, but will occasionally hunt during the day when it is feeding young or when the nights are cold. Chuditch occur at low densities. Females have a home range of 55 – 120 hectares which does not overlap with other females. Male home ranges are larger, up to 400 hectares, but they often overlap with those of other males and females.

Diet

The chuditch is the largest carnivorous marsupial in Western Australia. A voracious hunter, it will eat whatever it can catch, which is mostly invertebrates. It hunts on the ground and among fallen timber, understorey and leaf litter but will also climb small trees in search of prey. Chuditch will take small mammals, birds and their eggs, small lizards, freshwater crayfish, crickets, beetles, spiders and scorpions. They have also been reported to eat fruits and flowers and the fleshy red outer coating of zamia seeds.

Reproduction

Breeding begins in May; there is a peak of births in June and July, although some are born as late as September. Gestation lasts 17 to 18 days and the female gives birth to between two and six young. By nine weeks old, they are too large for the pouch and the mother leaves them in a den while she goes out hunting. The young gradually grow fur and learn to eat solid food. They are weaned at four to five months, learn to hunt and then disperse in early summer. Both males and females can breed successfully in their first year.

Threats

A number of factors have contributed to the spectacular decline of the chuditch since colonisation. Chuditch were hunted and poisoned by settlers who regarded them as a pest which threatened their domestic poultry. The chuditch’s habitat has been damaged by the removal of hollow logs and den sites due to land clearing and frequent wildfire. Predation by foxes is an ongoing threat to remaining populations. By the 1980s, the total population in the wild was estimated to be less than 6,000 animals.