Two French tourists have been charged with animal cruelty after allegedly attempting to burn a quokka on Rottnest Island, off Perth.

Police allege that two men ignited an aerosol spray with a lighter, and the flame made contact with a quokka.

The marsupial was singed in the incident on April 3.

Detectives questioned two men on Rottnest Island on Saturday and seized video evidence.

Police said both men were evicted from the island.

An 18-year-old man and a 24-year-old man have each been charged with a count of animal cruelty.

They will appear in Fremantle Magistrates Court later this week.

Police said video of the incident would not be released to the public.

Quokkas are small, endangered marsupials protected under state and federal legislation.

They are almost exclusively found on Rottnest Island after numbers on the mainland dwindled following European settlement.

There are still some small populations on the mainland.

In February, five quokkas were found dead on Rottnest, and their heads had been stuffed into plant protectors.

In 2007, the Western Force rugby club fined two of its players $11,000 and $5,000 each after mishandling quokkas on the island.