Quokka

QUOKKA

The Quokka is a small marsupial like the forest wallabies and tree kangaroo's of eastern Australia. Very active at night, the Quokka sleep (often in small groups) during the day in the shelter of dense vegetation, and at night time (being sociable)up to 150 adults converge on waterholes

LOCATION
Found plentifully on Rottnest Island off Perth Western Australia, the current population on the island is estimated to be 10,000.
Thought to be extinct on the mainland small colonies are now starting to stabilise and expand in the south west of Western Australia

ROTTNEST ISLAND
Rottnest Island 10 km from Perth (capital of West Australia) was named by a Dutch explorer (some sources say Dirk Hartog in 1616, others say De Vlamingh) who thought that the Quokkas were actually large rats as he sailed past the island. (thus "Rats Nest" became "Rotten nest" which became "Rottnest") Obviously they had yet to see Wallabies or Kangaroos !!!! The background is of Rottnest island

DESCRIPTION
The Quokka is a small marsupial and looks like a Wallaby or Kangaroo. It's head is broad but short, with a dark stripe visible on the forehead. They have small, rounded ears covered by fur Its body has long thick shaggy fur normally coloured brown or grey flecked Its hind (Kangaroo like) feet are covered with stiff long hairs The tail is relatively short and is fairly smooth with little hair on it Quokkas sleep during the day.

HABITAT
They live in a warm temperature climate in long grass or shrub land (semi arid heath) where they make pathways or runways for feeding and escape if disturbed.

FEEDING
It feeds at night on native grasses and the leaves of shrubs. They need drinking water, but can survive long periods without it. This is helped by the remarkable ability of the Quokka to reuse a portion of their bodies waste products.

BREEDING
On the mainland, breeding is continuous but on Rottnest Island mating occurs from January to March. After a pregnancy of around 4 weeks a single young (Joey) is born. The joey lives in its mothers pouch suckling at one of its mothers 4 teats for the first 26 to 30 weeks. At this time it leaves the protection of the pouch but continues to suckle for another 8 to 10 weeks Males are larger than females. .

LINKS
Anderson's Creek Primary School page on QUOKKAS

All about Rottnest Island

Perth Zoo's page on Quokkas

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