this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2025
465 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 28 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] LadyButterfly@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

You made him even more lovely thanks 😍

[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 24 points 1 week ago (1 children)

They look like puppets and not real living wild animals.

[–] Bonesince1997@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago

Like Disney Animatronics

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 20 points 1 week 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 16 points 1 week ago

Glad I promoted a curiosity.

[–] Really_long_toes@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week 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 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week 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

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

[–] streetfestival@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 week ago

I'll have what he's having 😜

[–] MaggiWuerze@feddit.org 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

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

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

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

[–] Bob_Robertson_IX@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week 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

Just gotta outrun babies, smart

[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 week ago (3 children)

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

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 7 points 1 week ago

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

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

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

I want to see what it looks like when aggressive lol

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

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

[–] reddeadhead@awful.systems 11 points 1 week ago

Quokka Quokka

[–] Funky_Beak@lemmy.sdf.org 7 points 1 week ago

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

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 6 points 1 week ago

I love these goofy little bastards...

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

Thank you for bringing this to my life

[–] prex@aussie.zone 5 points 1 week ago

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

[–] nilaus@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Wait till you see his tail

[–] toiletobserver@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

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