Dying for sex? The plight of the male northern quoll – video

Data suggests male northern quolls rest less than females and spend much more time on the move, leading to their death after a single breeding season. As Guardian Australia's science report Donna Lu explains, Australian scientists have been researching why male quolls finish the mating season looking 'terrible', with some ending up in an 'early grave'. After equipping the endangered native animals with miniature backpacks and tracking them for seven weeks during the breeding season, researchers observed the males were spending very little time resting and were constantly on the move, all in the dogged pursuit to mate

• Dying for sex: endangered male quolls may be mating themselves to death instead of sleeping, scientists say
• Snakes have clitorises: scientists overcome a massive taboo around female genitalia'
• Release of 10 quolls boosts insurance' population of endangered marsupial