Quokka Balloza

In this unit in Population, we were mainly focused on Taxonomy, we then talked about the many different characteristics of animals. For our first action project, we had to choose an animal and examine its characteristics and taxonomy. Further, we were assigned to make a collage depicting those characteristics. We next had to compare each other's organisms to one another to create a Venn diagram comparing their features. 

This chart shows the different taxonomic levels my organism is a part of and what characteristics they have as a result of being a part of that group.

Taxonomic Level	Your organism’s group	Key characteristics of the group
Kingdom	Animalia	Animal, animaux, animals
Phylum	Chordata	Cordés, cordado, chordates
Class	Mammalia Linnaeus	Mammifères, mamífero, mammals
Order	Diprotodontia
Family	Macropodidae Gray	Kangaroos, wallabies
Genus	Setonix Lesson	Quokka
Species	Setonix brachyurus (Quoy and Gaimard, 1830)	Quokka

The Quokka, is a small marsupial native to Australia.  Quokkas are herbivores and eat native grasses. They consume all the leaves, stems, and bark of a variety of plants. Like cows, they eat their food twice.  These animals do not need a lot of water to survive.  Quokkas are most often active at night. They tend to be docile and non-aggressive unless their young are threatened. They are generally nocturnal.

LG, Quokka, 2022

Smile:  The world's happiest animal.

Claws: They will attack if provoked.

Pouch: They carry their offspring in a pouch.

Tail: They store needed fat in their tails in case of emergency.

Here is a diagram comparing Quokkas with their cousin the Kangaroo: 

Kangaroo (Macropus Rufus)	Both	Quokka (Setonix brachyurus)
	Tail
Through Australia	Claws	Rottnest Island
	Pouch
Height 3’ - 8’		Height 6in - 12in
Long ears	Herbivores	Short ears
Four babies @ a time	Hop	Two babies @ a time

Math Statements: 

Indigenous to Australia ={Kangaroo, Cassowary, Tasmanian Devil, Numbat}

Herbivores ={Cows, Deers, Elephants, Elks}

Quokka={Marsupial}

Marsupials={Kangaroos, Wallabys, Kolas, Wambat, Possums} 

Mammals = {Dog, Cat, Human, Dolphin, Whale}

I really enjoyed this project because, it helped me understand the vital role that animals play in our research of genealogy. I struggled with the math portion but I believe that others can learn from this too, because who doesn’t want to know all about the “World’s Happiest Animal”.

Sources:

Bennett, Emily. “Fun Facts About the Quokka, the Happiest Animal on Earth.” Real Word, 15 Dec. 2020, www.trafalgar.com/real-word/facts-about-the-quokka.