The quokka, an Australian marsupial, is to be found in Western Australia on Rottnest Island.
Dutch explorers who saw the quokka on the island off the coast of Western Australia thought it was a giant rat, and gave the island its current name: Rottnest, meaning nest of rats.
But the animal they had sighted was not a rat at all but a marsupial species known as quokka.
Today, the quokka still lives and thrives on Rottnest Island which has become popular with visitors and locals alike for its pristine beaches and wildlife habitats and reserves.
