Mount quaqua free#

Clearfell logging, agricultural development, and housing expansion have reduced their habitat, contributing to the decline of the species, as has the clearing and burning of the remaining swamplands. On the mainland, where it is threatened by introduced predatory species such as red foxes, cats, and dogs, it requires dense ground cover for refuge. ĭespite being numerous on the small, offshore islands, the quokka is classified as vulnerable. By 1992, following extensive population declines in the 20th century, the quokka's distribution on the mainland had been reduced by more than 50% to an area of about 17,800 km 2 (6,900 sq mi). Population Īt the time of colonial settlement, the quokka was widespread and abundant, with its distribution encompassing an area of about 41,200 km 2 (15,900 sq mi) of the South West of Western Australia, including the two offshore islands, Bald and Rottnest. The quokkas chew their cud, similar to cows. On the mainland, quokkas only live in areas that have 600 mm (24 in) or more of rain per year. Despite the relative lack of fresh water on Rottnest Island, quokkas do have high water requirements, which they satisfy mostly through eating vegetation. Rottnest Island visitors are urged to never feed quokkas, in part because eating 'human food' such as chips can cause dehydration and malnourishment, both of which are detrimental to the quokka's health. A study found that Guichenotia ledifolia, a small shrub species of the family Malvaceae, is one of the quokka's favoured foods. Like most macropods, quokkas eat many types of vegetation, including grasses, sedges and leaves. Additionally, they are known for their ability to climb trees. Prickly Acanthocarpus plants, which are unaccommodating for humans and other relatively large animals to walk through, provide their favorite daytime shelter for sleeping. On Rottnest, quokkas are common and occupy a variety of habitats, ranging from semiarid scrub to cultivated gardens.

Mount quaqua free#

The islands are free of certain predators such as red foxes and cats. One large population exists on Rottnest Island and a smaller population is on Bald Island near Albany. In the wild, the quokka's roaming is restricted to a very small range in the South West of Western Australia, with a number of small scattered populations. This caused the habitats of quokkas to eventually shift to islands and forests, where there were minimal predators and more vegetation.

When the Europeans arrived in Australia, they introduced new species, some of which became predators to the quokkas. Ecology ĭuring the Pleistocene period, quokkas were more abundant and living on open landscapes. The word 'quokka' is derived from a Nyungar word, which was probably gwaga. In 1696, Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh mistook them for giant rats, naming the island 't Eylandt 't Rottenest, which means 'the rat nest island' in Dutch. The quokka was first described by Dutch mariner Samuel Volckertzoon when he wrote of sighting 'a wild cat' on Rottnest Island in 1658. When a female quokka with a joey in her pouch is pursued by a predator, she may drop her baby onto the ground the joey produces noises which may serve to attract the predator's attention, while the mother escapes. Females sexually mature after roughly 18 months. Once it leaves the pouch, the joey relies on its mother for milk for two more months and is fully weaned around eight months after birth. The joey lives in its mother's pouch for six months. Females can give birth twice a year and produce about 17 joeys during their lifespan.

After a month of gestation, females give birth to a single baby called a joey. Quokkas have a promiscuous mating system. Quokkas are nocturnal animals they sleep during the day in Acanthocarpus preissii, using the plants' spikes for protection and hiding. The quokka is known to live for an average of 10 years.

Its coarse fur is a grizzled brown colour, fading to buff underneath. Although looking rather like a very small kangaroo, it can climb small trees and shrubs up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in). Its musculoskeletal system was originally adapted for terrestrial bipedal saltation, but over its evolution, its system has been built for arboreal locomotion. It has a stocky build, well developed hind legs, rounded ears, and a short, broad head. A quokka weighs 2.5 to 5.0 kg (5.5 to 11 lb) and is 40 to 54 cm (16 to 21 in) long with a 25-to-30 cm-long (9.8-to-12 in) tail, which is quite short for a macropod.