Hope for endangered eastern quolls in Booderee National Park enclosure

The eastern quoll has been extinct in the Australian mainland bush for more than 100 years and it's hoped they will thrive and grow in their new home, which is inside a 1.8 metre high fence.

The enclosure sits within the Booderee Botanic Gardens, an 80-hectare sanctuary in the national park, which also keeps out feral predators like foxes.

The new enclosure also has a curved umbrella top and is a collaboration between WWF Australia, Parks Australia and Aussie Ark.

WWF Australia CEO Dermot O'Gorman said the release was "not in isolation as one re-wilding project but part of a broader movement, to support these efforts across the country."

If the eastern quoll grows in sufficient numbers, future re-introduction trials will be made beyond the fence.

Tasmania is the only place you will find the carnivorous marsupial as the state has no fox population.

This is the second attempt to re-introduce the species to the mainland after a 2018 group where wiped out by predators. That trial did not use a fence but despite its failure was able to give conservationists insight into their ability to hunt, scavenge an evade predators.

The conservation groups were joined by Wreck Bay traditional owners and Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek for the unveiling of the enclosure.

"This new wildlife enclosure at Booderee will play a critical role in protecting the park's eastern quoll population, by keeping these vulnerable, ground-dwelling marsupials out of harm's way," the minister said.

"Captive breeding and reintroduction programs such as this one at Booderee are vital in boosting vulnerable native animal populations."

Traditional owners described the re-wilding process as profoundly cultural.

"A generation of people haven't seen eastern quolls out here on country in their lifetime," Director of National Parks Ricky Archer said.

"So this is a massive step in re-introducing a species that has been here, that has been lost, and ultimately work towards how country used to be...and how it needs to be."

The Invasive Species Council reports Australia is a world leader when it comes to extinct animals and plants - largely due to invasive species.

About 100 have been lost since colonisation and about 27 since the 1960s. According to the council, cats alone kill an estimated two billion animals in Australia every year.