Where do quokkas live?

The quokka is a small marsupial about the size of a domestic cat, related to kangaroos and wallabies. On the mainland it lives in scattered pockets of dense vegetation in the south-west, where foxes and cats have reduced its numbers. Rottnest Island, off Perth, has no foxes, and its population of roughly 10,000 quokkas is the best-known group. The island's name comes from Dutch captain Willem de Vlamingh, who in 1696 mistook quokkas for giant rats and called it 'Rattenest' (rat's nest). The species is listed as Vulnerable, and touching or feeding quokkas on Rottnest is against the law.