It isn’t every day you run into a quokka.
Campbell Jones took a bike ride last week on Australia’s Rottnest Island, known for its high population of the furry marsupials. When he stopped on the side of the road, a friendly quokka leaped right over to say hi.
Quokkas can be found in certain parts of Western Australia, but they’re the main attraction on Rottnest, which is home to around 11,000 of the critters. Jones and his girlfriend Emily had heard of the quokkas’ friendly nature but didn’t expect them to be so outgoing.
“You could stand ten meters away from the quokkas, without moving, and they would come to you,” Jones told HuffPost. “That was what surprised me most.”
The pair spent about 30 minutes with their new friend, snapping selfies with a GoPro before heading their separate ways.
Though quokkas may be game for photo opps, it’s never advisable to touch or feed them.
You can donate to quokka conservation via the World Wildlife Fund.
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