Also known as the 'Western Quoll', the chuditch was previously found all over the Australian mainland. Now, the marsupial mammal is only found in about five per cent of its habitat, and is sadly extinct in NSW.

Andrew Elphinstone, Taronga Zoo's manager of conservation, recovery and restoration programs said the chuditch was an extremely significant native species in need of support.

"We are going to be breeding large numbers of genetically and behaviourally robust chuditch to reintroduce to rewilding sites in NSW and around the country," Mr Elphinstone said.

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Taronga conservation officers and specialist keepers travelled to the Tone-Perup Nature Reserve in Western Australia and the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park in South Australia. These places are home to one of the last chuditch strongholds (WA), and a successfully reintroduced chuditch population (SA).

They collected eight chuditches from those states, four females and four males. The "founding" eight were brought to the Taronga sanctuary in Dubbo and are being housed in specialised breeding enclosures.

"All eight individuals were health checked by our veterinary team on arrival," Taronga's wildlife conservation officer, Rachael Schildkraut said.

"With all things going well, we could have up to 24 joeys by the end of this year in the sanctuary."

With the help of wildlife cameras and thermal scope technology, Ms Schildkraut said they would be following a "hands-off" approach to to allow the pairs to breed with minimal disturbance.

The chuditch is a "generally solitary" carnivorous marsupial that can live for three to four years. It is also a "supernumerary" breeder which means it can produce up to 50 foetuses, of which up to six can survive.

According to a statement, the conservation program has been made possible by donations from a private philanthropic family foundation.

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