Quokka

Quokka

The Quokka is a small marsupial, about the size of a domestic cat, that lives on an isla
nd called Rottnest, which is located near Perth, Australia. The island owes its name to the small Quokka, because when the island was first discovered, the Quokka was thought to be a very large rat, hence the original name, Rattennest, which is Dutch for Rat’s Nest. The average Quokka reaches a size of about 16-21 inches in length. The Quokka’s physical characteristics include short, coarse brown/grey fur, small round ears and a small black nose. Its tail is hairless and its back legs are much shorter than those of other marsupials.

First Steps

Quokkas are marsupials which means that they are a mammal who are born not completely formed and move into a pouch to continue developing. Typically, Quokkas breed from January to August. They spend 27 days developing in the womb, and then the mother gives birth to a baby. Similar to kangaroos, a baby Quokka is called a joey. For the next sixth months, the joey develops and lives in its mother’s pouch. When it eventually leaves the safety of the pouch, the young Quokka still depends on milk from its mother for another two months. The Quokka’s childhood does not last long, as it is sexually mature at just 1.5 years old.

Growing Up

After sixth months of living in the pouch, the joey is ready to leave. It has two months more of relying on its mother, but after that it is independent. Within a couple of months, the Quokka has to be ready to start mating.

Home

Quokkas live in densely vegetated areas near a water source. They are herbivores, so they obtain all of their food and nutrients from plants, seeds and fruits. The Quokka is called a browsing herbivor

   e, because as opposed to grazing and consuming a lot of one type of food, they search around for various types of food. An interesting point to note about the Quokka is that they prefer to create homes near areas of land that have recently been burned. When there is a fire, the food sources are destroyed and replaced by new ones of different varieties, which suits the Quokka’s diet of preferring new, young growth.

Quokkas feed during the night, so during the day they focus on building their homes. They take shelter in dense vegetation and create paths and tunnels in the brush that are used to escape predators and to look for food.

Power

Quokkas usually live in groups defended by dominant males. A hierarchy is determined by the age and size of the male, the oldest and largest being the most dominant.  However, Quokkas do not fight over mates, food, or water but they will fight over territory in order to gain the most comfortable spot in the shade.

Courtship

Males look for female mates during the nighttime, because they are nocturnal animals. Quokkas will typically form partnerships, and they prefer to stay with the same mate for about two breeding seasons. Females make the choice of who they mate with. If she is uninterested in a male who is attempting to court her, she will run away. If she is interested, she will paw at or groom the courting male. Dominant males have a higher mating success rate than the younger ones. If a female is interested in a subordinate male, but then a higher ranking male approaches, the original male will flee.