Quokka
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ID: #46
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Classification:
marsupial
Endangered Status: really vulnerable Habitat: light woodland on offshore islands, swampy areas, dense grass, and thick forests The quokka, Setonix brachyurus, is barely as large as a rabbit. Its head and body put together is about 2 feet long (60 cm), and it has hind feet that are about 4 in (10cm) long. The adult quokka weighs up to 11 pounds. The tail of the quokka can get up to as long as 14 in (35 cm). The fur is short and brown with some gray with a reddish tinge around the head and chest. Quokkas are diurnal, awake during the day. Quokkas jump like kangaroos when they need to go fast but waddle slowly when they are at ease. Quokkas have a habit of licking themselves excessively, which means they are losing vital minerals in their saliva. Shade however stops them from licking themselves ant it also helps them keep cool and shaded. They eat at nighttime so some of their predators won’t be able to see them eat. They eat grass and herbaceous plants. In dry summers they don’t have many choices on what to eat so they look for succulent plants and damp places to get water. They can also eat seedlings from trees. The quokkas have special bacteria in their stomachs so that they can break down tough plant fibers. Quokka’s mating takes place usually in January to March. Their gestation period is 26-28 days. They have single births. The joey leaves the mother’s pouch at 6 months old. The quokka becomes independent at 10 months. The quokka has a delayed birth, which means if there is a joey that is already in the pouch and attached to the nipple and is removed or dies, then another joey is born without another mating. The life span is not known. However the quokka is very endangered, vulnerable, and there are only about 6,000 left in all of the places where they are located. No one knows the reason why quokkas are dying so suddenly and quickly. Some scientists have a theory about how they are endangered. When the ding’s arrived about 3,500 years ago the number of quokkas went down drastically. This also occurred when the foxes came. The quokkas are very unusual for many reasons. For example they are able to survive without fresh water. They can also climb trees at really fast speeds, and the last unusual fact about quokkas is that they have been used for a lot of medical research on muscular dystrophy because many quokkas have suffered from the same horrible disease. |