Rottnest Island is 12 kms from the coast of Western Australia and home to the quokkas. This is the place to come if you want to see a quokka. It’s also a beautiful island that may be familiar to those of you who follow my instagram feed as the place where we spend our summers.
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The quokka is a small marsupial with brownish fur with a touch of grey that resembles a wallaby. It carries its young in its pouch as does the kangaroo and suckles the baby for up to ten weeks after the its birth. Quokkas feed at night on leaves and grasses and can survive without water for quite a while.  The number of quokkas on the island varies from 14,000 to 8,000 in summer. Long hot summers with little or no rainfall and plants whose nitrogen content decreases during this time are to blame for the decrease in numbers.
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Quokkas are wild creatures but they are not scared of humans. They will often come up to you especially if there is food in sight. Over many summers of beach barbecues on the island, Â quokkas were always the uninvited guests, hopping into any food that we had inadvertently left within their reach even though a change of diet is bad for them.
Quite a few can be found around the settlement areas of Rottnest…in Thomson Bay and Geordie Bay. Do not try to pick one up….there are fines for handling these little guys.
I caught this quokka in the video, having a mid morning snack in Thomson Bay!
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 Would you like to see a quokka?
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Other articles you may enjoy:
Our Summer Hideaway: Rottnest Island
Wildflowers of the West
Finding Fremantle
The Australia Day Challenge
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Everyone loves Quokkas
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I didn’t think I’d be saying this but what a cute little rodent! As for your instagram pictures, that collage is incredible. It has such a wonderful mood, immediately makes me think of summers gone by… *sigh.
He is quite cute Calli though he can be annoying at times!! Rottnest is such an old fashioned place, I’m not surprised it evokes that feeling of the past!
I have wanted to go to Rottnest, specifically to see these little guys….one day!
Yes, you must come and visit Corinne.I can definitely promise you quokkas!
I think quite a few people were stumped with the Q. Good pick. Off the beaten animal path. I’ve never heard of them before and never even knew that other animals carried their young in pouches other than the kangaroo.
And, I haven’t heard of this area other than seeing the photos on your IG.
Now you’ll have to come and see them for yourself Ann! Yes, they carry them for about 10 weeks in their pouch…they’re so tiny, you wonder how!
They are so gorgeous, I didn’t get to see one when I travelled around Australia but it’s a good excuse to go back! 😉
You’ll have to come to Western Australia this time Becky as they’re only found here!
so cute 🙂
Thanks Lili. They are very cute!
There are interesting animals all over the world, and many of them are right in Australia. The Quokkas looks kinda like a Kangaroo the way it sits back on its hind legs, but looks like a cross version between a rat and squirrel in the face. Do they hop like Kangaroos? Thanks for stopping in for a visit!
Ohhhh brings back so many great memories from my time on Rotto when we lived in Perth!
Happy I’ve taken you back to the good ole days SJ!
That is an awful lot of quokkas Jenny! They certainly are cute. 🙂
It sure is isn’t it Jan. Sadly, we often saw a few that hadn’t made it on our morning walks.