Threats: Habitat loss and predation by cats and foxes
Will they visit?: Quenda will visit home gardens located near parks, reserves, and bushland
Natural Distribution: Common and widespread across the South West and Perth region
Quenda – (CC)Beth Shaw. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Quenda – (CC)Beth Shaw. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Quenda – (C)Bryony Fremlin
Quenda – (CC)Ry Beaver. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Quenda – (CC)Jason Pitman
Quenda – (CC)Beth Shaw. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Habitat at a Glance
See Habitat Guide for more detail
Shelter: Hollows in large trees and constructed nest boxes
Diet: Fungi, bulbs, tubers, fruit, invertebrates, and occasionally small animals
Water: Large ponds and water containers on the ground
ReWild Benefit: Ecosystem engineer, maintain and promote ecological health
Habitat Guide - Shelter
Natural Shelter
Quenda like to hide in hollows, burrows, under dense shrubs, and within thick leaf-litter. The biggest deterrent for a Quenda to visit a garden is the presence of dogs and cats. If you do have Quenda visiting the garden, make sure they have plenty of places to hide. Quenda can become very confident around people.
Novel Shelter
Below is a habitat box template for a quenda. Ideally, place the box on the ground near a mature tree, under dense shrubs, and surrounded by plenty of mulch and leaf litter. Speak with the local government or local Landcare before installing or maintaining a box for quenda. Ensure the box is inaccessible to resident dogs or cats. Before you build:
Nest-boxes are a long-term commitment and need maintenance and repair over time.
Chipboard is okay, but degrade after a year of use.
Hardier and untreated timber (i.e. Jarrah) will last longer and are less prone to attack by fungi, bacteria, and microorganisms.
Keep away from treated timber as this can emit fumes toxic to wildlife and their young.
Avoid using metal wire inside a box. A wooden ladder on the inside of the nest-box is much more suitable or grooved timber will work well.
Maintenance is critical to ensure wildlife remain safe. Last thing you want is a side panel falling off with an animal or its young still living inside.
Habitat Guide - Food and Water
Providing natural sources of food
Quendas love to eat a wide diversity of foods including seeds, insects, fruits, flowers, but particularly fungi. To help your local Quenda, you can plant a variety of native grasses, native fruiting plants, tall shrubs and trees. Provide areas with thick mulch to provide additional foraging areas. Overtime, they can become confident around people and will eat scraps of food and uneaten pet food. We do not encourage this and recommend removing any artificial food sources.
Providing sources of water
Shallow water containers and ponds will provide water during warm weather. Ensure the an easy exit if a quenda were to fall in to avoid potential injury.
ReWild Benefits
Quendas are known as ecosystem engineers and are critical to the health of our forests and bushlands as they disperse seeds and beneficial fungi, maintain soil health, and decrease fire risk across our city. If you see a Quenda, you can record your sighting on Atlas of Living Australia!
