Habitat
Geographically, quokkas live mostly in three parts of the
Australian Mainland and close offshore islands. Quokkas live
near the city of Perth in the southwest part of Australia; they
also live on the Rottnest Island and the Bald Island both off
the coast of Australia. While they were extinct on the Northern
mainland of Australia, there have been some small groups spotted
in the southwest part of Australia, expanding from the city of
Perth. Quokkas are most densely populated on the Bald Island;
they thrive here because they have no predators on the island.
They are less populated on the Rottenest Island, and even less
in the city of Perth, do to predators and being hunted by
humans.
The quokka lives in a small shallow hole or some type of shady
place like under a
Western Australian Christmas Tree where it nests during the
day to escape the heat, and leaves the nest at night to eat.They
are nocturnal so they prefer to get their fill of food at night.
The quokka likes to live near dense vegetation by shrub land
especially near swamps. They will return to the same spot where
it lives every day, and they seldom changing locations (Nocon
et al., 2003).
Quokkas are considered to be a habitat specialist; this means
they have a limited diet and thrive in a certain range of
environmental conditions. Families of quokka have adapted to
live in semi-arid areas, they prefer warmer temperatures and
they have adapted to the seasonal change of Australia from the
very hot summer to the mild winters. Summers in Australia have
been known to get up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit during the day,
while the winters can get to below zero at night.
On the Rottenest and Bald islands, quokkas live in thick forest
areas with open woodland and areas with shrubs. They prefer to
be very close to fresh water, but have also been found near
swamps and very far away from any source of water.
In the city of Perth, there is little to no fresh water, but the
quokka can survive by obtaining a small amount of water from the
plants it eats. Quokkas need a very small amount of water to
survive; they can also dig a hole to obtain water (Nocon et
al., 2003),
again, showing that it is a specialist.
For more information on the quokka's habitat go to this website.
Want to learn how quokkas adapt? Go to the Adaptations page!