Quokkas are called the happiest animals in the world! They look like they are smiling! Actually, they are not smiling. Their front teeth and mouth just make it look that way. But their cute faces and happy expressions are adorable! So people love to take photos with them.

Quokkas are quite clever and can even learn to do tricks. They are friendly and gentle animals that are not afraid of people. 

Quokkas are not endangered yet, but numbers are falling.  There are only 7,500 - 15,000 quokkas. Predators include, dingoes, dogs, cats, foxes and birds of prey. 

birds of prey - birds that hunt and eat other birds or animals

Quokkas are herbivores. This means that they eat plants and no meat. They eat leaves and grass. The like new leaves and grass best.

Like kangaroos and cows, quokkas are ruminants. This means they swallow their food, then bring it back up again to chew it some more.

They can go a long time without food or water if necessary. They can live off of fat that is stored in their tails!

ruminant: animals that bring food back up and chew it again

Quokka mothers have one baby at a time. They usually have two babies each year. Babies are called joeys. The baby is very small - about the size of a bean.

After it is born, the joey crawls into the mother's pouch where it will finish growing for the next 6 months. Inside the pouch, the baby drinks milk and grows quickly. It will continue to drink milk until it is about a year old. At a year or a year and a half, the joey will hop off to live on its own.