Setonix brachyurus
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey (photo by Sean Mack) · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The quokka (Setonix brachyurus) is a macropod native to Australia. It is about the size of a domestic cat. It is the only member of the genus Setonix. Like other marsupials in the macropod family (such as kangaroos and wallabies), the quokka is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal.
The quokka's range is a small area of southwestern Australia. They inhabit some smaller islands off the coast of Western Australia, particularly Rottnest Island just off Perth and Bald Island near Albany. Isolated, scattered populations also exist in forest and coastal heath between Perth and Albany. A small colony inhabits a protected area of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, where they coexist with the critically endangered Gilbert's potoroo.
A quokka weighs 2.5 to 5.0 kg (5+1⁄2 to 11 lb) and is 40 to 54 cm (16 to 21 in) long with a 25-to-30 cm-long (9.8-to-12 in) tail, which is quite short for a macropod. It has a stocky build, well developed hind legs, rounded ears, and a short, broad head. Although looking rather like a very small kangaroo, it can climb small trees and shrubs up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in). Its coarse fur is a grizzled brown colour, fading to buff underneath. The quokka is known... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rottnest Island | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Saitama Children's Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 3 | Taronga Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Melbourne Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Parndana Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Perth Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Sydney Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Adelaide Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Australian Reptile Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Gorge Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 13 | Symbio Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 14 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 15 | Tralaga Wildlife park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 16 | Sea Life Sydney Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 17 | Wild Life Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 18 | Birdworld Kuranda | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 19 | Kuranda Koala Gardens | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 20 | Australian Wildlife Park, Albany | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 21 | Caversham Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 22 | Wildlife HQ Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia |
No species of the same family or order lives in Rottnest Island, so these are its closest relatives here: other mammals.
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Quokka sighting in Rottnest Island on a given day, based on 1,093 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Quokka in Rottnest Island on a given day, against about 70% in July, the lowest month. That is one of Rottnest Island's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 120 mm in June.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Quokka sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Rottnest Island, in our data
Rottnest Island is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Quokka sightings: about 80% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Quokka is recorded against all the mammals logged in Rottnest Island (1,093 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
