Mammals
Quokka
Setonix brachyurus · also called short-tailed scrub wallaby, the happiest animal in the world
The quokka is a small, round-faced wallaby from a corner of Western Australia that became internet-famous for appearing to smile. Behind the “happiest animal in the world” nickname is a threatened marsupial that survives mainly because a couple of its islands never got foxes or cats.
Overview
Quokkas are members of the kangaroo and wallaby family (macropods), about the size of a large house cat, with coarse grey-brown fur, small rounded ears, and a short, sparsely furred tail. They live in southwestern Western Australia, in two very different situations: dense, thicket-rich swamp and forest on the mainland, where scattered small populations persist, and open island scrub and woodland, where the two main populations — on Rottnest Island near Perth and Bald Island near Albany — are secure and abundant.
They are mostly nocturnal, resting by day in the shade of dense vegetation, and they follow well-worn runways and tunnels through the scrub. Unusually for a macropod, quokkas climb low shrubs and trees to reach leaves.
Living without water
The southwest has hot, dry summers, and mainland quokkas away from swamps face long periods without free water. They cope by extracting moisture from their food, concentrating their urine, and recycling nitrogen (urea) rather than excreting it, so they can go for extended dry spells without drinking. Island quokkas, especially on Rottnest, are more water-stressed in late summer and lose condition until the autumn rains.
Reproduction
A female quokka usually raises a single joey, which stays in the pouch for about six months and then follows at heel for a few more weeks. Like many kangaroos, she can carry a second, dormant embryo (embryonic diapause) that resumes development if the first joey is lost — a useful buffer in a harsh environment.
The “smiling” fame
The quokka’s relaxed island demeanour and the natural upturn of its mouth turned it into a viral subject: tourists on Rottnest crouch down and the curious, unafraid quokkas walk right up to the camera. The “quokka selfie” trend brought welcome attention and tourism revenue, though it also prompted stricter rules against feeding and handling the animals.
Threats and conservation
The quokka is listed as Vulnerable. On the mainland it was pushed to the brink by introduced foxes and cats and by the clearing and draining of its swamp habitat, and it remains dependent on predator control and dense cover there. The island populations are safer but face their own risks — summer drought and heat, occasional wildfire, and disease — and the whole species is exposed to a drying climate in the southwest. Fox baiting, habitat protection, and careful management of island tourism are the main conservation tools.
Quokka: common questions
Why does the quokka look like it's smiling?
It doesn't actually smile — the "grin" is just the natural shape of its face and jaw. Quokkas have rounded cheeks, an upturned line to the mouth, and a habit of sitting still and relaxed near people (on Rottnest Island they have no reason to fear humans), so photographs catch what looks like a cheerful expression. The "quokka selfie" became a social-media phenomenon in the 2010s, which boosted tourism and, usefully, public interest in an otherwise obscure threatened marsupial.
Where do quokkas live, and why only there?
Quokkas were once widespread across the southwest of Western Australia, but on the mainland they were devastated by introduced red foxes and feral cats, to which — like most small Australian mammals — they have almost no defence. Today the great majority survive on two fox-free and cat-free islands, Rottnest and Bald Island, with only small, scattered groups hanging on in dense mainland swamp and forest thickets where predators are harder to hunt in.
Is it true you can be fined for touching a quokka?
On Rottnest Island, yes. Quokkas are protected, and feeding or handling them carries fines of hundreds of dollars. Human food (especially bread and chips) makes quokkas sick and causes a jaw disease called "lumpy jaw," and handling stresses them and can injure joeys. Visitors are allowed to take photos from close range, since the animals approach willingly, but not to touch, feed, or chase them.
Do quokkas really throw their babies at predators?
This widely repeated claim is misleading. A threatened female quokka may release her joey from the pouch as she flees — the joey makes a distress noise that can distract a predator while the mother escapes. It is not a deliberate "throw," and it is a last-ditch survival response seen in some other marsupials too, not a callous quirk. In practice it is rarely observed, and most quokka losses on the islands are to birds of prey and, on the mainland, to foxes and cats.