Quokka in the Outback in honor of Groundhog Day coloring page

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Today's new drawing was suggested by my daughter. It is a Quokka.

This small marsupial somewhat resembles a groundhog. . . so I 

post this in honor of Groundhog Day... which is tomorrow, February 2nd. 

Quokka from the Ouback

A quokka is a cat-sized marsupial from Australia.  It is also called a Short-Tail Scrub Wallaby.  It is a plant-eater so it might be considered a herbivore, except that sometimes it will eat small animals like legless lizards and snails, so that makes it an omnivore.  It is active at night so it is nocturnal.  This animal is found off the coast of southwestern Australia on several islands. The quokka weighs between 5.5 lbs and 11 lbs.  That is 2.5 to 5 kg.  

It probably used to be just a land animal but over time it evolved the ability to climb small trees and bushes.  They are known to sleep in bushes during the day.  They are known to hop like wallabies and kangaroos, only not so far per jump. 

Quokkas babies are called joeys.  The joey is carried in their mother's pouch.  The mother quokkas sometimes will do something that is kind of weird.  If chased by a predator, like a dingo, they will sometimes drop their joey and abandon it to the predator. The baby or joey will hiss and cry out and attract the predator so the mother can escape.  So the mother quokka escapes but the joey gets eaten. (So, the mother quokka that does this is not exactly "Mother of the Year.")

The tangled grass in the picture is Spinafex.  

Quokkas are very friendly to humans and often people take selfies with them. 

This drawing, in printable form, can be found by clicking on the button labeled "Animals of Australia."  Scroll down to the bottom of the list because new drawings will be at the bottom of the correct list.