Squirrels and chipmunks cache food items that they later dig up and eat when food resources are low. Most species are also very vocal to express alarm and aggression. They have keen eyesight with very good depth perception, helping them judge distance as they leap from branch to branch. Tree squirrels and chipmunks are diurnal or crepuscular while flying squirrels are nocturnal. They and all other native tree squirrels and chipmunks are protected in Washington. Their decline is attributed to habitat loss, highway mortality, disease, competition with non-native squirrels and loss of genetic diversity. The Western Gray Squirrel (Sciurus griseus) is now the least common squirrel seen in Washington and is listed as threatened in the state. Introduced into the Seattle area in the early 1900s, it has become well established in cities and suburbs. The most common tree squirrel in Western Washington is the non-native Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). Washington State is home to nine of these species-seven native species: Western Gray Squirrel, Douglas Squirrel, Red Squirrel, Northern Flying Squirrel, Least Chipmunk, Townsend’s Chipmunk, and the Yellow-pine Chipmunk and two non-native or introduced species: Eastern Gray Squirrel and the Eastern Fox Squirrel. Over 30 species of tree squirrel and chipmunk are widely distributed across North America. Chipmunks, however, spend the majority of their time on the ground but are capable of climbing trees. Tree squirrels separate themselves from other members of the squirrel family because they live mostly among trees and not in burrows like ground squirrels. They are frequently seen in urban areas and city parks. We've collected a few additional quokka photographs from Instagram users such as cambojones2020 and Suzana Paravac.Tree squirrels and chipmunks are some of the most familiar members of the rodent order. These social plant-eaters hang out in clans, munch on swamp peppermint and other greens, store fat in their tails for lean times, dig tunnels through vegetation for napping and hiding, and hop like kangaroos - a close relative (along with wallabies). So what's the story behind the quokka, whose chronic grin earned it the moniker "happiest animal in the world" a couple of years back? Until recently, many people outside of Australia had never heard of the quokka, a Muppet-cute (despite its beady eyes and rat's tail) marsupial with an irresistible smile.īut this week, people's selfies with the furry critter (its name rhymes with mocha) have charmed the Internet. In 2015, National Geographic published an article about the popularity of taking selfies with quokkas: In contrast, the hair on the feet extends to cover its claws.Īs stated in the quote above, quokkas are commonly found on Rottnest Island, off the western coast of Australia, where they've become a tourist attraction. The tail is relatively short and mostly devoid of hair. Its facial features consist of a naked nose on a short, broad face with rounded furry ears. It has short, very coarse and thick grey-brown fur over most of the body with lighter parts underneath. The island is now known as Rottnest Island.Įssentially the Quokka looks very much like other wallabies. He named the island Rottenest ('rat nest') in honour of this sighting. His first sighting of the Quokka was on an island off the mouth of the Swan River. The Quokka, Setonix brachyurus, was described by early Dutch explorer, Willem de Vlamingh, 'as a kind of rat as big as a common cat'. These small wallabies can climb trees, survive on a diet of plants, and are about the size of a house cat. The quokka ( Setonix brachyurus) is a member of the marsupial family that lives in Western Australia. Photographs of the quokka are frequently shared with captions such as "the happiest animal on earth." While we have found no surveys measuring the happiness of the world's animals, we can confirm that this is indeed a real animal. In March 2020, we started receiving questions about another animal that some readers thought was simply too cute to be real: the quokka. For instance, the " world's cutest rodent," this " short-tailed weasel," this " zunzuncito bird," this " adorable bunny," and this " Giant Japanese Emperor Moth" are all human-made objects that have been mistaken for real animals. One odd genre of fake photographs we encounter often involve stuffed animals or toys passed off as real animals.
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