West Australian police are searching for a missing quokka which is thought to have stowed away in a rubbish ship from Rottnest Island, 22km from Perth, to the mainland on January 4.

The authorities issued a statewide plea on Thursday to find “Steve” and is offering a reward for his safe return: a day trip to the island.

Quokkas are a small friendly marsupials, known for “quokkas selfies” and live in colonies on Rottnest Island.

According to the WA police’s Facebook page, the Rottnest Island Authority is seeking information regarding the whereabouts of the quokka.

“Steve was last seen at the Regional Resource Recovery Centre in Canning Vale on Wednesday 4 January 2017,” it reads.

“He appears to have escaped from Rottnest Island, possibly on board a rubbish barge, so we seem to be dealing with a very smart, crafty Quokka.

“Steve is described as small, cute and furry. He may use his cuteness to trick unsuspecting humans into giving him food.

“As with all escapees, Steve is not to be approached as he may act in an unpredictable manner,” it says, asking people to instead call the Department of Parks and Wildlife if the quokka is found.

Since it was uploaded 18 hours ago, the post has been shared 5,919 times and attracted 8,000 interactions.

Despite the missing quokka, the police have kept some humour about the situation.

In the comments section of their post they wrote: “Someone had to post this …..” with the clip below attached.

Police also posted a photo of Steve to its Twitter account.

A crafty Quokka has escaped from @RottnestIsland Please report any sighting to @WAParksWildlife on 9474 9055. Last seen in Canning Vale area pic.twitter.com/GrAPw5YsNY — WA Police Force (@WA_Police) January 12, 2017

And in case you’re still wondering what a quokka selfie is, here are a couple examples of the 10,785 #quokkaselfie posts on Instagram.

Check out my friend Caitlin's selfie with this Quokka!! Look how happy he is!! They are the cutest animals! ??????? #littleally #littleclub #quokkaselfie #quokka #smilingquokas A photo posted by Little Ally (@littleallyyt) on Jan 8, 2017 at 6:06am PST

Most of you know my attitude towards selfies, but when it's for work and this guy asked, then I reckon it might just be ok. Quokkas…definitely the happiest animals on earth #rottnestisland #quokka #thelivingroom #quokkaselfie A photo posted by Chris Brown (@drchrisbrown) on Jun 11, 2016 at 1:17am PDT

Making friends with this little guy #quokka #quokkaselfie [email protected] A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Chloe (@chloeallyn_) on Jan 12, 2017 at 1:45am PST

A friendly quokka! #quokkaselfie A photo posted by Olivia Preece (@olipreece) on Jan 11, 2017 at 1:54am PST

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