The Quokka is a small relative of the kangaroo found in small areas of west Australia and on Rottnest Island. The Quokka measures three feet in length from head to tail, weighs about seven pounds and is characterized by its ability to hop on its hind legs. Quokkas have sharp claws and short arms and legs that give it an almost rat like appearance. Being herbivores, a Quokka's diet consists of different grasses, roots and plants; they are also known to eat seeds and small insects. Quokkas have digestive systems that do not handle any food that is outside of their natural diet. Their plant based diet allows the Quokka to get most of its water needs satisfied, so it can go long periods of time without drinking any water. Quokkas are territorial animals and have a set order of authority. These groups which are dominated by the oldest and largest males can consist of anywhere between 25 and 150 Quokkas and Quokkas of other groups rarely cross into another group's space. Quokkas reproduce once a year. Similarly to kangaroos, Quokkas have a short pregnancy, one month, and then their young, called joeys, live in their pouch for the next few months while growing and gaining strength. After five to six months, the Joey leaves its mothers pouch, but stays in its group's territory.
The Quokka populations have drastically decreased from their former figures. This is mainly due to the introduction of dingoes and the European Red Fox into the Australian outback a few centuries ago. To this day the Quokka population has not recovered. While mainland populations remain low, the Quokka population on Rottnest Island has flourished. Being free of the dingo and other predators, the Rottnest Quokka population remained healthy and was able to flourish. Unfortunately, the safety of the flourishing population numbers is currently being threatened. The island is being targeted for commercial and recreational development. The increased human presence has been very detrimental to the Quokka population. Land loss and habitat destruction are obvious problems. Some less acknowledged issues are the increase of disease spread among the Quokka population created as a result of human presence. The health of Quokkas is also threatened by tourists that insist on feeding Quokkas food. As mentioned before, Quokkas have very sensitive digestive systems and the introduction of human food to their diets has a substantial negative effect. The combination of all these dangers has led to the Quokka being classified as vulnerable by the IUCN Red list. Scientists believe that the Quokka is soon to be in desperate need of conservation to avoid the threat of endangerment.
