Quokka

Common Name:

Quokka

Scientific Name:

Setonix brachyurus

Type:

Mammals

Diet:

Herbivore

Average Life Span:

10 years

Size:

From 16 to 21 inches

Weight:

5.5 ounces to 11 pounds

When explorers in the late 1600s first spotted this fuzzy, friendly-looking animal in Australia, they figured they’d stumbled on a house-cat-size rat. Not even close. Quokkas might be related to kangaroos and wallabies, but they’re way weirder. This marsupial has traits more often associated with other animals—and that makes it one weird critter. 

They reach for leaves like koalas

Ground-dwelling quokkas sometimes climb five feet up a tree trunk to reach a tasty-looking leaf or berry. That might not sound impressive, but it’s something its closest relatives—kangaroos and wallabies—can’t do. Tree-loving koalas have strong, large paws made for gripping branches all day. But the quokka can hold on only for a few minutes. Just enough time to swipe a snack! (Meet more Australian animals.)

They hop like rabbits

If you spot a brown fuzz ball bouncing through the brush, it’s not a rabbit—it’s a leaping quokka! Although they usually crawl on all fours, quokkas also use their strong back legs to jump. These animals also create passageways in the bushes and grass as they move through the brush, similar to the underground tunnels bunnies create. Furry, cute, and hoppy? Yes, please!

They catch Z’s like bats

OK, quokkas don’t sleep while hanging from a cave or tree, but they do sometimes nap with their heads upside down. Quokkas often sleep in a sitting position with their head resting on their feet. "It’s very cute," says Cassyanna Gray, a conservation officer on Australia’s Rottnest Island, one place quokkas live. Also, like most bats, quokkas are mostly nocturnal, snoozing when the hot sun is out. 

They chew like giraffes

Quokkas eat their food in a way that is similar to giraffes. Both animals use their large, flat molars to grind tough treats like leaves to release moisture and nutrients. The difference? Giraffes later regurgitate the food (meaning they basically throw it back up into their mouths—yuck!) and chew it some more. When a quokka swallows food, the meal enters its first stomach (yep, quokkas have two tummies!), where the food is broken down more before entering the second stomach.