Western Australian Museum quokka heads to Shanghai Natural History Museum as part of cultural exhange

Western Australia’s happiest little marsupial has packed its bags and taken its world-famous smile all the way to Shanghai. Aulo the Quokka was unveiled on Saturday at the Shanghai Natural History Museum as part of a first-of-its-kind cultural exchange led by the Western Australian Museum. Aulo entered uncharted territory when he became the first WA quokka specimen to go on display in China. The cheeky, hopping mascot of Rottnest Island is on a mission to steal the hearts of museumgoers, so much so tourism authorities hope they’ll be booking flights to WA in no time. “The quokka is an incredibly happy, smiling animal that people from all around the world want to get a selfie with,” WA Museum Boola Bardip’s director of engagement, Jason Fair, said. “It was really an obvious choice to be putting one on display in the museum. “Other animals are sort of spread around Australia like the kangaroos, but the quokka is very uniquely Western Australian, so what it does in the Shanghai Natural History Museum is sparks talk specifically about Western Australia.” Aulo was discovered near Albany in 2024 after being hit by a car and was donated to the WA museum by a member of the public. He now lives on as a symbol of WA’s unique biodiversity. “We’ve got one specimen already in our regional museum and we’ve got them inside Boola Bardip Museum as part of our permanent displays,” Mr Fair said. “We also have collections of them in our research collection centre in Welshpool.” Director-General of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, Ni Minjing, said this marks the birth of an exciting international partnership. “We believe that this handover ceremony marks a new beginning,” he said. “In the future, our two museums will continue to deepen our collaboration, working together on more scientific and cultural exchange projects. “We aim to enhance public understanding and awareness of biodiversity conservation, particularly among the youth, and contribute to global efforts in protecting biodiversity.”