SPECIES: Setonix brachyurus — Quokka
CLASSIFICATION: Vulnerable
The Quokka, a small marsupial roughly the size of a domestic cat, is the only member of its genus. These charming wallabies – famous for their friendly demeanors – once ranged widely across southwest WA, but now survive in fragmented populations on Rottnest, Bald Island, and a few remnant mainland pockets nestled within wet forests and heathlands. Quokkas are fascinating in their behaviour. They live in social groups and are mostly nocturnal, feeding on a variety of grasses, leaves, and bark. Like other marsupials, females may expel a joey from the pouch when under severe stress, which has led to the persistent myth that they “throw” their babies at predators. While not intentional, this behaviour highlights just how harsh survival can be in the wild – even for the world’s so-called “happiest animal.”
In November 2024, the IUCN also officially assessed the Quokka as vulnerable, noting a troubling downward trend in its global population, now estimated between 7,500 and 20,000 mature individuals. The pressures driving this decline are well-documented: habitat loss and fragmentation from land clearing and altered fire regimes, predation by invasive species like foxes and cats, and the increasing frequency of severe bushfires that devastate these marsupials’ habitats.