Quokka Facts for Kids

Quokkas are very photogenic. Photo by phototrip / iStock.com.

The island of Rottnest near Perth, Australia is the primary home of the quokka, a type of marsupial. Marsupials are mammals that carry their young in pouches.

You may be familiar with quokkas after seeing a photo of one online. A lot of people take photos with quokkas because they are very photogenic, and they’re not shy around people.

Quokkas have round, compact bodies that are 40-54 cm (16-21 in.) in length. They are covered with short, coarse brown-gray fur and have small rounded ears and a black nose.

A quokka on Rottnest Island. Photo by photosbyash / iStock.com.

Quokka Lifestyle

Groups of quokkas live in territories, which are defended by dominant males. They often live in tall grass near water sources.

Similar to kangaroos, quokkas get around by hopping and bounding. But they can also crawl on all fours. Quokkas can even climb trees!

Quokkas live in family groups. Photo by Martin Helgemeir / iStock.com.

Mistaken for Rats

When a Dutch explorer, Willem de Vlamingh, visited an island off the west coast of Australia in the late 1600s, he thought the quokkas that lived there were large rats. He named the island “Rattennest” (Dutch for “Rat’s Nest”), which was later adapted to Rottnest.

Aside from Rottnest Island, small groups of quokkas also inhabit the mainland in Western Australia, as well as Bald Island, a small island to the southwest.

An early Dutch explorer mistook quokkas for large rats. Photo by charmedesign / iStock.com.

What Quokkas Eat

Quokkas are herbivores who primarily feed at night, meaning they are mainly nocturnal. They eat leaves, stems, bark, and grass.

If necessary, they can survive for long periods of time without food or water by living off the fat stored in their tails.

Quokka and joey on Rottnest island, Western Australia. Photo by Hideaki Edo / iStock.com.

Quokka Reproduction

On the mainland, quokkas can breed all year round, but on Rottnest Island, they only breed from January to August.

After a month of gestation, the female gives birth to a baby called a joey. Females can give birth twice a year.

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.

Baby quokka poking its head out of its mother’s pouch on Rottnest Island, Western Australia. Photo by EAGiven / iStock.com.

At 1.5 years old, quokkas are old enough to have their own babies.

In the wild, quokkas can live up to 10 years.

Conservation Status

The IUCN Red List classifies the quokka as vulnerable due to declining populations and loss of habitat from logging and development. Threats include foxes, dogs, and cats on the mainland, which has limited their population.

On Rottnest, there are no foxes, dogs, or cats, but human visitors have killed quokkas out of cruelty.

Quokkas are also at risk of developing muscular dystrophy, a disease in which muscles are damaged and weakened.

Quokkas are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. Photo by S.Rohrlach / iStock.com.

What You Can Do to Help

Quokkas are naturally trusting and curious animals and may approach visitors. If you visit an area with quokkas, do not touch them or feed them. Educate others to do the same.

You can also help protect their habitat by supporting efforts to reduce logging in Western Australia.

Quokka Range

Quokkas primarily inhabit Rottnest Island, near Perth, Australia. They also live in small groups on Bald Island, and on the mainland in Western Australia.