Quokka

The quokka is a small marsupial about the size of a house cat. It belongs to the same family as kangaroos and wallabies, but it has a stocky body, a short tail and a short, broad face with rounded ears. That face looks as if it is always smiling, and the look has made the quokka famous around the world.

Quokkas live only in a small part of south-western Australia. The biggest groups are on Rottnest Island, just off Perth, and on Bald Island near Albany. A few scattered groups also live in forest and coastal heath on the mainland. They eat plants and are mostly active at night. The IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable.

Where does the quokka live?

On the mainland, quokkas prefer thick vegetation, which gives them more to eat and places to hide from dingoes, red foxes and feral cats. The islands have far fewer of these predators, so island quokkas do better. During the day a quokka rests in dense, spiky plants and uses the spikes as protection. Although it looks like a tiny kangaroo, it can climb small trees and shrubs, up to about 1.5 metres high. A wild quokka lives about ten years on average.

Joeys and a surprising name

A female quokka has one baby, called a joey, after about a month of pregnancy. The joey grows in its mother's pouch for around six months and is fully weaned at about eight months. The word quokka comes from a word used by the Noongar people of the region. In 1696 the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh mistook the animals for giant rats and named the island Rottnest, which means rat's nest in Dutch.

On the globe

The globe places the quokka on Rottnest Island, Western Australia, where most of the population lives. Look for its round face and small, stocky body.