Mammals · Diprotodontia · Macropodidae
Quokka
Setonix brachyurus
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
It became famous worldwide as 'the happiest animal on Earth' for a facial expression that looks like a permanent smile, driven by viral selfies taken by tourists on Rottnest Island.
Weight
1.6 kg – 4.2 kg
Size
40 cm on average
Lifespan
5 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
Fun facts
- Its name comes from a historical misunderstanding: in 1696 the explorer Willem de Vlamingh mistook quokkas for giant rats.
- It eats grasses, leaves and soft shoots, and depends heavily on fresh water nearby.
- It lives in dense scrub, swampy ground and woodland of south-western Australia, especially on Rottnest and Bald Islands.
- conservaciónIts expression, which looks like a permanent smile, and its lack of wariness around people have made it a social-media phenomenon, though in the wild it faces serious conservation threats.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (marsupial mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Dense scrub, swampy ground and woodland of south-western Australia, especially on Rottnest and Bald Islands
- Birth weight
- ~0.38-0.4 grams
- Size at birth
- Tiny and helpless at birth
- Sexual maturity
- Female: ~8.4 months (252 days) | Male: ~13 months (389 days)
- Gestation / incubation
- 25-27 days
- Litter / clutch size
- 1 young per birth, with up to 2 births a year and as many as 17 young in a lifetime
- Lifespan in captivity
- Documented record of up to 13.8 years in captivity
Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Wiley (reproduction in captivity study); GBIF; Animal Diversity Web; A-Z Animals; The Quokka (mating and life cycle); Animalia.bio; AnimalHub
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Quokka — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby
Petrogale penicillata
Bridled Nailtail Wallaby
Onychogalea fraenata
Rufous-bellied Pademelon
Thylogale billardierii
Red-necked Wallaby
Notamacropus rufogriseus
Red-legged Pademelon
Thylogale stigmatica
Rufous Hare-wallaby
Lagorchestes hirsutus
How to help
The quokka is classified as vulnerable. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about quokka.
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