this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2025
464 points (99.4% liked)

aww

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This little guy is called quokka. They only live on a small part of Australia, and they're unbelievably cute! Just found out about them today

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[–] gofsckyourself@lemmy.world 27 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] LadyButterfly@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

You made him even more lovely thanks 😍

[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 23 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They look like puppets and not real living wild animals.

[–] Bonesince1997@lemmy.world 14 points 2 months ago

Like Disney Animatronics

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 20 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I found out about them about a year ago thanks to Lemmy, funnily

I was wondering why one of the Aussie instances was called quokk.au

[–] Quokka@quokk.au 17 points 2 months ago

Glad I promoted a curiosity.

[–] Really_long_toes@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They’re famous for selfies. They look like they’re always smiling. People call them the happiest animals on Earth.

But when danger comes for their babies… They don’t fight. They don’t protect.

They throw their babies at predators and run.

That’s right — mother quokkas have been observed tossing their joeys out of their pouches to distract predators while they escape.

It’s brutal. It’s cold. But it’s survival.

Scientists call it “infant abandonment as a defense mechanism” — and in quokkas, it’s instinctive. The moment they sense they’re beieing ruthless does. jettison the baby and run for cover.

No last look. No hesitation.

Because in the wild, being cute doesn’t keep you alive. Being ruthless does.

[–] LwL@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I was wondering which part about them makes them dangerous or fucked up, given they're from australia. Thanks for providing the answer lol

[–] cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 10 points 2 months ago

robert irwin holding quokkas is literally my favourite thing in the world tbh

[–] streetfestival@lemmy.ca 10 points 2 months ago

I'll have what he's having 😜

[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 months ago (3 children)

And yet it's killed more humans than all the animals in Africa combined.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 7 points 2 months ago

Are you sure you're not conflating it with the drop bear?

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

......this little guy??? Daaaaaamn!!!! Homie is hardcore, yo!

[–] NutinButNet@hilariouschaos.com 2 points 2 months ago

I want to see what it looks like when aggressive lol

[–] TomMasz@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This guy looks like Fozzie Bear waiting for the audience to react to one of his jokes.

[–] reddeadhead@awful.systems 10 points 2 months ago

Quokka Quokka

[–] MaggiWuerze@feddit.org 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I feel like the picture needs it holding a knife to be believably Australian

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] Brickhead92@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

You call that a knoife? This, is a knoife 🥄!

[–] Bob_Robertson_IX@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Nah, if you need to know why they've been vanquished to Australia you just need to look into their defense strategy.

This is the reason for the sly smileWhen a female quokka with a joey in her pouch is pursued by a predator, she may drop her baby onto the ground; the joey produces noises which may serve to attract the predator's attention, while the mother escapes. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quokka#Description

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

Just gotta outrun babies, smart

[–] Funky_Beak@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Getting high on the beach with these guys scurrying about is always a fun summer night.

[–] princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago

All ya gotta do is chase one and it'll throw you free snacks!

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 6 points 2 months ago

I love these goofy little bastards...

[–] prex@aussie.zone 5 points 2 months ago

The island is called rottnest because the Dutch explorers thought they were rats.

[–] plyth@feddit.org 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] LadyButterfly@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

Thank you for bringing this to my life

[–] nilaus@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago

Wait till you see his tail

[–] toiletobserver@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

I'm all right, don't nobody worry bout me