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Individual identification of animals from DNA in field-collected faecal samples is becoming an increasingly important tool in wildlife population monitoring. A major issue relevant to the application of this technique is the reliability of the genotypes obtained. I investigated the effect of sample age and season of collection on amplification rates and reliability of microsatellite genotypes amplified from faecal DNA of a marsupial herbivore, the brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) and a eutherian carnivore, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Comparison of DNA profiles from 1 day to 6 months for both species suggests that as the age of the faeces increases there is less good-quality DNA present on the surface of the faeces, resulting in significantly decreasing amplification rates and increasing genotyping error rates over time. No microsatellite PCR products were obtained from samples older than 3 months from any …