Quokka escapes Rottnest Island on garbage barge, sparking fears for survival

Search under way after marsupial startles recycling centre worker who thought it was a large rat

Calla Wahlquist

Thursday 12 January 2017 03.11 GMT Last modified on Thursday 12 January 2017 22.41 GMT

Authorities in Western Australia are searching for a quokka that apparently escaped Rottnest Island in a rubbish bin and reemerged on the mainland, startling a recycling centre worker who thought it was a “large rat”.

Native to WA and famous for smiling happily in selfies, quokkas were largely eradicated on the mainland and survived thanks to a large, isolated population on Rottnest Island, a prison camp turned popular holiday destination off the coast of Perth.

They roam free around the island, which is devoid of both cars and large predators, and authorities fear the escaped quokka will not survive an encounter with these new threats.

Reports of the escapee emerged on 10 January, when a WA man working at the recycling centre in Cannington, in Perth’s southern suburbs, realised the blurry photos of a “large rat” presented by his South African colleague were in fact a quokka.

It is a common mistake: Rottnest got its name from Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh who named it Rotte nest, or rat’s nest, in 1696.

Penni Fletcher-Hughes, from Rottnest Island Authority, said it appeared the quokka had climbed into a garbage bin in search of food and was accidentally transferred on to the garbage barge, which took it to Cannington.

“Being as it has got itself in a very good place for food, the chances are it will be fine,” Fletcher-Hughes said. “It just depends where it goes from there.”

Quokka escape was “very unusual,” Fletcher-Hughes said, but finding quokkas in bins is not.

Basically, this quokka is now at large.

“I have seen them climb the walls; they are quite resourceful when it comes to searching for food,” she said. “We are not concerned in terms of him finding food … it’s other threats and just general stress. It’s a bit stressful to suddenly wake up in a recycling centre.”

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Quokka survives alleged attempt by French tourists to light it on fire

Two men, aged 18 and 24, will face court on animal cruelty charges after police seized a video of the alleged attack on the marsupial on Rottenest Island near Perth

Calla Wahlquist

Sunday 12 April 2015 03.38 BST

Last modified on Sunday 12 April 201503.57 BST

Two French tourists have been evicted from Rottnest Island, a popular holiday spot 20km off the coast of Perth, Western Australia, for allegedly attempting to light a quokka on fire.

A quokka joey. WA police say two men

 aimed lit a stream of aerosol aimed 

at a quokka on Rottnest Island, 

which was singed during the alleged 

attack. Photograph: Taronga Zoo/PR

WA Police spokeswoman Ros Weatherall said the men, aged 18 and 24, allegedly lit a stream of aerosol on fire and aimed the jet of flame at a quokka on April 3.

Weatherall said the animal was allegedly singed during the incident.

It’s understood the quokka was not badly injured and managed to run off. It has not received veterinary treatment.

The men have been charged with animal cruelty and bailed to appear in Fremantle magistrates court on Friday.

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Quokka deaths on Rottnest Island spark police investigation

Five quokkas that were found stuffed head-first into tree protectors and another lying nearby had ‘clearly been killed’, say authorities

Calla Wahlquist

Wednesday 25 February 2015 04.57 GMTLast modified on Wednesday 25 February 

Authorities in Western Australia are investigating the deaths of five quokkas that were found stuffed head-first into tree protectors on Rottnest Island on Monday.

The animals were found by Peter Basford, who told Seven News in Perth that he was visiting the island and found the animals near the camping ground.

“I saw a couple of them with their heads sticking out the bottom, the heads facing up … I can’t think of anything more gruesome,” he said.

Basford, who was described as a regular visitor to Rottnest, said the island was “supposed to be a paradise”.

A spokeswoman from the WA Department of Parks and Wildlife told Guardian Australia that six quokkas had been found dead – five stuffed into tree protectors and another one lying nearby. They are believed to have been there for up to a week.

She said the animals had “clearly been killed” but it would be inappropriate to speculate on how they were killed until the investigation was completed. The department has conducted autopsies and Rottnest Island police tweeted a plea for information about the incident on Wednesday.

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