Bushfires have killed off many of West Australia's quokkas
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382693)
Rockingham, Australia
September 7, 2016 8:57am CST
On the West Australian news a day or two ago was a story about the decimation of the quokka population in our south-west following the devastating bushfires in February 2015. The fire was started by lightning.
The fire destroyed the habitat of one of only several mainland populations of quokkas, a small marsupial which is also found on Rottnest Island just off the coast of Perth. 100,000 hectares of their habitat was burnt and of the 500 quokkas believed to have lived there, there are now only about 39. Quokkas can move quite quickly but only for a limited distance. It is highly unlikely that many have escaped to other regions.
With the ground vegetation destroyed, the remaining quokkas have little chance of escaping from feral predators such as foxes and cats. In 2013, the quokka was chosen as 'the happiest animal in the world' as on Rottnest, it has little fear of humans and doesn't mind appearing in selfies. It also often appears to be smiling.
Quokkas are the size of a domestic cat, are herbivorous and mostly nocturnal. It looks like a very small kangaroo, has rounded ears and can climb small trees and shrubs. Let's hope the dwindling numbers don't spell the beginning of the end for these little creatures.
Photo courtesy: en:User:SeanMack (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0
27 people like this
30 responses
@nanette64 (20363)
• Fairfield, Texas
7 Sep 16
Ahhh, he is so cute @JudyEv . I certainly hope they can rebound from this.
2 people like this
@Theresaaiza (10487)
• Australia
7 Sep 16
Oh no poor little things 
The problem with bush fires is that it's a naturally occurring incident sometimes and not necessarily due to human activity or error. I hope these 39 survivors breed fast and grow in number again.
The problem with bush fires is that it's a naturally occurring incident sometimes and not necessarily due to human activity or error. I hope these 39 survivors breed fast and grow in number again.1 person likes this
@Theresaaiza (10487)
• Australia
9 Sep 16
@JudyEv That's even sadder when most fire-related catastrophes are just due to human mistakes (deliberate or accidental), and innocent lives and creatures suffer the most. There was a bushfire (I can't remember when and where) that also drove Koala population down and out of their natural habitat. There was this touching photo of a rescuer offering a Koala a drink but I can't remember if that was from a bush fire or just from a heat wave. Oh dear, I need to get my facts straight.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382693)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Sep 16
Some of our bushfires are deliberately lit but this one wasn't. It was very fierce though and thousands of hectares were burnt. One town was threatened and evacuated but they managed to save it.
@JudyEv (382693)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Sep 16
@Theresaaiza I remember the photo you're talking of and it was a bushfire. It was a lovely photo.
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
7 Sep 16
I wonder where the rest went, if it was caused by lightning then it's nobody's fault, perhaps naure is telling them to go where it is safer, poor guys
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@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
8 Sep 16
@JudyEv oh God, hope government does some artificial breeding and release them when the burnt natural habitat area has recovered.
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@JudyEv (382693)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Sep 16
@louievill I'm hoping it won't be too much of a problem as they breed well on Rottnest. They could always relocate some.
@epiffanie (11336)
• Australia
8 Sep 16
I've never heard of quokkas before .. I asked my husband who is sitting on the coach watching tele if he heard of quokkas before but he said no .. Thank you for sharing .. you have educated tonight ..
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@epiffanie (11336)
• Australia
9 Sep 16
@JudyEv I am even surprised that my husband who was born here in Australia have never heard of it ..
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@JudyEv (382693)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Sep 16
@epiffanie I am a bit surprised that someone born in Australia has not heard of it.
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@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
9 Sep 16
What a shame...I hope their numbers can increase. .. and their habitat and vegetation grow back rich and in abundance...
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@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
10 Sep 16
@JudyEv yes I've heard that too..
let's hope so...
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@teamfreak16 (43685)
• Denver, Colorado
8 Sep 16
Hopefully, they can make a comeback.
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@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
7 Sep 16
This is also the first time I am hearing of this animal. It is sad when animals become extinct.
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@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
8 Sep 16
@JudyEv Fire are so devastating for the wildlife.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382693)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Sep 16
We have quite a few little marsupials which don't get a lot of publicity.
@JudyEv (382693)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Sep 16
With this latest loss of so many, I think they are now considered endangered.
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
7 Sep 16
That is sad. I hope something is being done to protect this species. They're so cute!
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
7 Sep 16
I hope people can get in and start replanting the vegetation and save the little cuties
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@RasmaSandra (98156)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7 Sep 16
Aw that is so sad they look like such adorable animals @JudyEv sure hope they don't die out. Took a look at the quokkas and found this. So adorable.
The smiling marsupial is a favorite photo subject for tourists on West Australia's Rottnest Island.
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@JudyEv (382693)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Sep 16
It's great isn't it? They really look like they are smiling. To me, dolphins always look like they're smiling too. That's a good article - with great photos. :)
@JudyEv (382693)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Sep 16
Rottnest I believe is Dutch for 'rats nest'. The Dutch were the first to land on our shores but it took the English to set up colonies. :)
@miniam (9151)
• Bern, Switzerland
7 Sep 16
Im wonderiing how they came to a decision that they are the happiest animals in the world.
Wild fires can be devastating to little animals as they can not run too far unlike humans and when the fires are over,they face hunger due to all vegetation being burned to dust.
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