Have you ever seen a Quoka? Now you have! Descriptions of the Quoka from the San Diego Zoo:
Aside from being named one of the best Scrabble words you’ll ever play, the quokka has a lot going for it, even as the smallest type of wallaby in Australia. About the size of a house cat, this fuzzy, pouch-packing, nocturnal herbivore is terrestrial, but can climb about 5 feet (1.5 meters) up a tree for a tasty snack. The quokka has a bounding gait interspersed with hopping; it does not use its tail as a tripod like kangaroos sometimes do.
The quokka’s friendly, curious personality (even toward humans) is surpassed only by its perpetual “smile.” Of course, the quokka’s grin is largely due to its facial muscles and protruding front teeth, not the person on the ground waving around a selfie stick, trying to get a #quokkaselfie, which is trending in Australia (and worth an Internet search). While getting that close to wildlife is usually frowned upon—Instagram even created a warning for the quokka selfie hashtag stating that some images “may be associated with animal abuse”—it appears that the quokka on Rottnest Island are not showing any signs of distress posing for their closeup and are free to move away from the tourists when they choose.
Yesterday and today. The quokka was common in coastal parts of the mainland of southwestern Australia until the 1930s, when the red fox Vulpes vulpes was introduced. This voracious hunter made short order of the quokka in many areas. Luckily, the foxes did not make it to Rottnest Island, so quokkas are more plentiful there. But across their range, human activities have negatively impacted their habitat—clearing for agriculture and housing, as well as recreational activity, fire regimes, and introduced animals all fragment suitable habitat for this (and other) native species.
Quokkas have coarse, brown fur that becomes lighter on the belly. Its rounded back, erect ears, small front hands and long rear feet, thinly-furred tail, and wet, black nose are not only great adaptations, but also give it high marks on the Absolutely Adorable test. Lacking a formidable bite, kick, or stench, the quokka instead quickly bolts down trodden paths through thick grasses to avoid predators. In a mad dash, it hops on its hind legs.