Jelly Roll Was “Fixing To Faint” After Getting To Hold A Baby Quokka In Australia

Jelly Roll names a baby quokka after a country music legend. (Instagram/daileyjellyandbunnie)

Jelly Roll Recently Had The Time Of His Life While Visiting Australia

On October 25, Jelly Roll made his first-ever trip to Australia to headline the Strummerville Festival in Queensland.

Not only was it a big moment in his career after years of being unable to travel internationally due to past legal issues, but the “Save Me” singer also got the special chance to meet and hold some rare and adorable animals.

In a video shared by a fan account dedicated to Jelly Roll and his wife Bunnie, he’s seen meeting some furry friends, including a koala, a wombat, and a baby quokka.

A quokka is a small, cat-sized marsupial native to Western Australia. They’re known for their facial expressions, which make them look like they are smiling.

“Dude, this is crazy, oh my God,” he says as he craddles the quokka. “I am fixing to faint. This might be the greatest day of my whole life.”

But Jelly Roll didn’t just get to spend time with the adorable animal; he also got to name it!

In a clip, you can hear someone behind the camera, likely an animal handler, give him the green light to do so.

He ended up FaceTiming his wife, Bunnie, for name ideas. She said that he should name the quokka “something country.” She suggested the name Loretta, after country trailblazer Loretta Lynn.

“I love Loretta. Loretta, it is. The infamous Loretta Lynn!” Jelly Roll declared.

Jelly Roll didn’t stop there, though. After giving the quokka such an honorable name to live up to, he decided it was only fitting to let the little animal hear what its namesake was famous for.

He started playing Loretta Lynn’s 1970s hit “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

Jelly Roll and Bunnie have always shared their love for animals and have even rescued many farm animals of their own. So, of course, Jelly Roll immediately started thinking about ways he could help the wildlife he met in Australia.

“This could be a new thing, dude,” he said. “We could start rescuing quokkas. We’ll start sponsoring them. What do they cost? I’ll buy Loretta right now. She’s like a little mouse. This just keeps getting cooler.”

Jelly Roll’s encounter with the quokka had actually been a long time coming. For those who may not know, he has a tattoo of one on his arm. He originally got it during a wild night out with friends.

“I got a quokka,” Jelly Roll shared in an interview with GQ. “Me and like 10 people got drunk on a beach in Miami and Fort Lauderdale once.

Jelly Roll shows his tattoo of a quokka. (YouTube/GQ)

Getting the tattoo wasn’t a drunken mistake by any means, though. The tattoo actually holds a lot of meaning for the singer, and reminds him to always live life with a positive mindset.

“I wanna remind people in life, this is the happiest animal on the planet,” he added. “When life starts throwing me curveballs, I look down at my little quokka and I go, ‘be a quokka. Be a quokka. That’s my quokka.’”

Watch Jelly Roll live out his dreams of holding a baby quokka in the video below.