Quokka

Quokkas live in the south-west of Australia.

Many live on an island called Rottnest, near the city of Perth. Others live in thick bush on the mainland.

Quokkas live only in the south-west corner of Western Australia. Most live on two small islands where there are no foxes: Rottnest Island near Perth, and Bald Island near Albany. On the mainland they live in small, scattered groups in thick vegetation beside streams, and in shrubland and heath, especially around swamps.

When Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh first saw quokkas, he thought they were a kind of rat as big as a cat. He named their island Rottenest, meaning rat nest. Today it is called Rottnest Island.

The IUCN describes the species as endemic to south-western Australia, including Rottnest Island (17 square kilometers) and Bald Island (8 square kilometers); it once occupied about 41,200 square kilometers from the Moore River, north of Perth, to beyond Albany. Mainland populations are now small and often isolated, with the most extensive remaining between Nannup and Cheynes Beach.

In the northern jarrah forest quokkas are closely tied to tea-tree swamps with a fire-created mosaic of vegetation ages; farther south they use jarrah, marri, karri and tingle forest, riparian sedges, swamps, gullies and dense heath. On Rottnest Island they use all vegetation types, sheltering in low scrub.

Quokkas eat plants.

They nibble leaves and grasses. On Rottnest Island they like juicy plants called succulents.

Quokkas are herbivores. They browse on grasses and leaves, and on the mainland their favorite plants include shrubs called Thomasia. They especially like fresh young growth, such as the new shoots that sprout after a bushfire.

On Rottnest Island, where the plants are different, quokkas eat mostly succulents, plants with thick, juicy leaves, and some wattle leaves. Quokkas can go for long periods without food or water.

The Australian Museum describes quokkas as browsing herbivores favoring grasses and leaves, especially plants of the genus Thomasia, with a strong preference for young growth; seasonal food availability is linked to regrowth after fire, and habitat burned within the last decade is favored. On Rottnest Island the diet is mainly succulents and, to a lesser extent, wattle leaves.

Quokkas can survive long periods without food or water, although the Animal Diversity Web notes that mainland animals tend to gather around fresh water, food and shelter, especially in the dry season.

Quokkas are busy at night.

In the day they rest in thick bushes. Quokka families can share the same area.

Quokkas are most active at night, feeding on their own or in small groups. Their home areas overlap, and they do not defend territories. They often gather where there is fresh water, food and shelter.

On the mainland, quokkas need a patchwork of plants of different ages. Some areas are freshly regrown after fire, and others have not burned for a long time. Thick plants give them places to hide, and burned patches regrow with fresh food.

The IUCN notes that family groups have overlapping home ranges, reflecting general non-territoriality, and the Animal Diversity Web describes animals gathering around water, food and shelter and males forming hierarchies based on size.

On the mainland, quokkas need a habitat mosaic: recently burnt and long-unburnt tea-tree stands, vertical vegetation complexity and little woody debris. The IUCN recommends that prescribed burns keep unburnt patches across more than 20 percent of the burn area so quokkas can persist and recolonize. Fire and fox predation together widen the gaps between occupied patches.

There are fewer quokkas on the mainland than before.

People are protecting them from foxes and looking after their bushland. Lots of quokkas live safely on Rottnest Island.

The quokka is vulnerable. Quokkas were common when Europeans arrived in 1829, but after red foxes arrived in the 1930s and land was cleared, mainland numbers fell sharply. Feral cats and pigs, bushfires and a drier climate are problems too.

On fox-free Rottnest Island there are about 8,000 to 12,000 quokkas (2016 estimate). On the mainland, people put out fox baits, plan careful burns that leave unburnt patches, and protect the island populations.

The IUCN assessed the quokka as Vulnerable in 2024 (published 2025): its area of occupancy is under 2,000 square kilometers, it occurs at fewer than 10 locations, and decline is inferred and projected from the loss of small subpopulations, a drying climate, fire and predation by red foxes, feral cats and pigs. It is estimated at 7,500 to 20,000 mature individuals.

There are no robust overall counts: about 3,500 to 7,000 on the mainland (2008), 8,000 to 12,000 on Rottnest (2016) and 500 to 2,000 on Bald Island. The area occupied fell by about half over the past century. Fox baiting has helped some populations recover, and a tiny group at Muddy Lakes near Bunbury is baited monthly.