Some Fun Facts About Quokkas

• Quokkas are marsupials, tiny little cousins to kangaroos.
• Yes, like kangaroos, they hop!
• They’re adorable!
• They only live in southwest Australia (mostly on 2 islands: Rottnest Island and Bald Island).
• They’re tiny, but not that tiny – they are about the size of small house cats.
• Why not randomly put a picture of such a cute animal on your site?
• Quokka can go months without drinking water.
• They are friendly toward people, but don’t feed or pet them! It could result in a fine or jail.
• Quokka are nocturnal and east plants and nuts.
• They are listed as a vulnerable species – not quite endangered, but their population is declining. 🙁

And what we think is the craziest fact about quokkas:

Quokkas are capable of something called embryonic diapause or “delayed impregnation.

Simply put, a female can mate with a male but delay the development of her egg until conditions become favorable for raising a baby.

It’s a sort of natural reproduction strategy that will keep her from expending energy and resources to raise joeys that won’t survive.

For example, there are some female quokkas that mate again right after giving birth, but they’ll hold off on having the second baby until they see if their first joey survives.

If it does, the embryo will disintegrate, and the unneeded second baby will never exist. It the first joey dies, however, the embryo will naturally implant and develop to create a replacement.

Found on “50 Quokka Facts“