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Quokka
The quokka (/ˈkwɒkə/; Setonix brachyurus) is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. It is the only member of the genus Setonix. Like other marsupials in the macropod family (such as kangaroos and wallabies), the quokka is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal.
The quokka's range is a small area of southwestern Australia. They inhabit some smaller islands off the coast of Western Australia, particularly Rottnest Island just off Perth and Bald Island near Albany. Isolated, scattered populations also exist in forest and coastal heath between Perth and Albany. A small colony inhabits a protected area of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, where they coexist with the critically endangered Gilbert's potoroo.
A quokka weighs 2.5 to 5.0 kg (5+1⁄2 to 11 lb) and is 40 to 54 cm (16 to 21 in) long with a 25-to-30 cm-long (9.8-to-12 in) tail, which is quite short for a macropod. It has a stocky build, well developed hind legs, rounded ears, and a short, broad head. Although looking rather like a very small kangaroo, it can climb small trees and shrubs up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in). Its coarse fur is a grizzled brown colour, fading to buff underneath. The quokka is known to live for an average of 10 years. Quokkas are nocturnal animals; they sleep during the day in Acanthocarpus preissii, using the plants' spikes for protection and hiding.
Quokkas have a promiscuous mating system. After a month of gestation, females give birth to a single baby called a joey. Females can give birth twice a year and produce 17 joeys on average during their lifespan. The joey lives in its mother's pouch for six months. Once it leaves the pouch, the joey relies on its mother for milk for two more months and is fully weaned around eight months after birth. Females sexually mature after roughly 18 months. When a female quokka with a joey in her pouch is pursued by a predator, she may drop her baby onto the ground; the joey produces noises which may serve to attract the predator's attention, while the mother escapes.
The word "quokka" is originally derived from a Noongar word, which was probably gwaga or gawaga. Today, the Noongar people refer to them by either that name or another that has been variously rendered in English as 'ban-gup' or 'bungeup'.
In 1658, Dutch mariner Samuel Volckertszoon wrote of sighting "a wild cat" on the island. In 1696, Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh mistook them for giant rats, and renamed the Wadjemup island 't Eylandt 't Rottenest, which means "the rat nest island" in Dutch. Vlamingh had originally described them "as a kind of rat as big as a common cat".
On the mainland, quokkas prefer areas with more vegetation, both for a wider variety of food and also for cover from predators such as dingoes, red foxes, and feral cats. In the wild, the quokka's range is restricted to a very small range in the South West region of Western Australia, with a number of small scattered populations. One large population exists on Rottnest Island and a smaller population is on Bald Island near Albany. These islands are free of the aforementioned predators. On Rottnest, quokkas are common and occupy a variety of habitats, ranging from semiarid scrub to cultivated gardens. Prickly Acanthocarpus plants, which are unaccommodating for humans and other relatively large animals to walk through, provide their favourite daytime shelter for sleeping. Additionally, they are known for their ability to climb trees.
Like most macropods, quokkas eat many types of vegetation, including grasses, sedges and leaves. A study found that Guichenotia ledifolia, a small shrub species of the family Malvaceae, is one of the quokka's favoured foods. Rottnest Island visitors are urged to never feed quokkas, in part because eating "human food" such as chips can cause dehydration and malnourishment, both of which are detrimental to the quokka's health. Despite the relative lack of fresh water on Rottnest Island, quokkas do have high water requirements, which they satisfy mostly through eating vegetation. On the mainland, quokkas only live in areas that have 600 mm (24 in) or more of rain per year. The quokkas chew their cud, similar to cows.
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Quokka
The quokka (/ˈkwɒkə/; Setonix brachyurus) is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. It is the only member of the genus Setonix. Like other marsupials in the macropod family (such as kangaroos and wallabies), the quokka is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal.
The quokka's range is a small area of southwestern Australia. They inhabit some smaller islands off the coast of Western Australia, particularly Rottnest Island just off Perth and Bald Island near Albany. Isolated, scattered populations also exist in forest and coastal heath between Perth and Albany. A small colony inhabits a protected area of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, where they coexist with the critically endangered Gilbert's potoroo.
A quokka weighs 2.5 to 5.0 kg (5+1⁄2 to 11 lb) and is 40 to 54 cm (16 to 21 in) long with a 25-to-30 cm-long (9.8-to-12 in) tail, which is quite short for a macropod. It has a stocky build, well developed hind legs, rounded ears, and a short, broad head. Although looking rather like a very small kangaroo, it can climb small trees and shrubs up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in). Its coarse fur is a grizzled brown colour, fading to buff underneath. The quokka is known to live for an average of 10 years. Quokkas are nocturnal animals; they sleep during the day in Acanthocarpus preissii, using the plants' spikes for protection and hiding.
Quokkas have a promiscuous mating system. After a month of gestation, females give birth to a single baby called a joey. Females can give birth twice a year and produce 17 joeys on average during their lifespan. The joey lives in its mother's pouch for six months. Once it leaves the pouch, the joey relies on its mother for milk for two more months and is fully weaned around eight months after birth. Females sexually mature after roughly 18 months. When a female quokka with a joey in her pouch is pursued by a predator, she may drop her baby onto the ground; the joey produces noises which may serve to attract the predator's attention, while the mother escapes.
The word "quokka" is originally derived from a Noongar word, which was probably gwaga or gawaga. Today, the Noongar people refer to them by either that name or another that has been variously rendered in English as 'ban-gup' or 'bungeup'.
In 1658, Dutch mariner Samuel Volckertszoon wrote of sighting "a wild cat" on the island. In 1696, Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh mistook them for giant rats, and renamed the Wadjemup island 't Eylandt 't Rottenest, which means "the rat nest island" in Dutch. Vlamingh had originally described them "as a kind of rat as big as a common cat".
On the mainland, quokkas prefer areas with more vegetation, both for a wider variety of food and also for cover from predators such as dingoes, red foxes, and feral cats. In the wild, the quokka's range is restricted to a very small range in the South West region of Western Australia, with a number of small scattered populations. One large population exists on Rottnest Island and a smaller population is on Bald Island near Albany. These islands are free of the aforementioned predators. On Rottnest, quokkas are common and occupy a variety of habitats, ranging from semiarid scrub to cultivated gardens. Prickly Acanthocarpus plants, which are unaccommodating for humans and other relatively large animals to walk through, provide their favourite daytime shelter for sleeping. Additionally, they are known for their ability to climb trees.
Like most macropods, quokkas eat many types of vegetation, including grasses, sedges and leaves. A study found that Guichenotia ledifolia, a small shrub species of the family Malvaceae, is one of the quokka's favoured foods. Rottnest Island visitors are urged to never feed quokkas, in part because eating "human food" such as chips can cause dehydration and malnourishment, both of which are detrimental to the quokka's health. Despite the relative lack of fresh water on Rottnest Island, quokkas do have high water requirements, which they satisfy mostly through eating vegetation. On the mainland, quokkas only live in areas that have 600 mm (24 in) or more of rain per year. The quokkas chew their cud, similar to cows.