Setonix brachyurus - Quokka
The happiest animal on the planet.

Welcome! This page will be telling you all about the smiling critter in the picture below - the quokka! The name of this cute creature can be somewhat confusing when it comes to pronouncing it. Most people, especially North Americans, pronounce it Qu-OH-ka; meanwhile Austrailians tend to pronounce it Qu-AW-ka. So you can pronounce it any way you'd like!

The quokka is a marsupial - meaning that its young is kept in a pouch (University of California 2005). While it has a pouch like a kanagroo, it is much smaller than a kangaroo. Quokkas are often the size of a domesticated cat. Being small, cute, and friendly, people often want to feed or pet them. However this is illegal as quokkas are endangered (Nocon 2003).

To take a look at the happiest animal on earth, check out this video! See how friendly they are with people, watch how they move around, and make sure you notice the smile on their face!

To get started, head on over to the Classification page and see how the quokka got its name as Setonix brachyurus!

Want to see some different organisms? Head on over to the Multiple Organisms website!