WOMBATS

Untitled Slide

• This large, pudgy mammal is a marsupial, or pouched animal, found in Australia and on scattered islands nearby.

TERRITORIAL

• Wombats are territorial animals. They mark their home range by grunting at intruders, rubbing their scent on trees, and scattering cube-shaped droppings. The unique shape of their dung helps keep the markings in place around their territory.

HOME RANGES

• A common wombat may have up to twelve burrows in its home range with three to four main burrows. A main burrow will house a network of subtunnels, which include multiple entrances and sleeping quarters. With a tough barrel-like body, short powerful legs, and long flat claws, the wombat walks with a shuffling gait but is extremely adept at tunneling.

HOW THEY LOOK

• The common wombat’s hairless nose, smaller ears, rounder head, and longer fur distinguishes it from hairy-nosed species of wombats. Resembling a small bear, the common wombat has coarse, bristle-like fur that ranges in color from sandy hues to darker browns and blacks.

WHERE IT IS FOUND

• Preferring wet, forested areas with slopes (for good burrow drainage), common wombats inhabit the southeastern coastal regions of Australia, including eastern New South Wales, eastern and southern Victoria, southeastern South Australia, and the whole of Tasmania.

WOMBATS DIET

• Most of the time, wombats remain in their burrows to stay out of the heat. However, they venture out at night and in cooler mornings and evenings to graze. Their diet consists of grass, shrubs, roots, bark, and moss. To accommodate their fibrous diet, their teeth grow on a continual basis to balance out the constant wear.

BREEDING

• Wombats breed on a seasonal basis. Their mating is timed so that the most vegetation is available when the offspring is ready to be weaned. In that sense, the latitude and altitude of a wombat’s territory will determine the best time to mate. However, mating generally occurs in the winter months.

PREDATORS

• Wombats do not have many natural enemies. Dingoes are their primary predator, along with foxes, and Tasmanian devils in Tasmania. For younger, smaller wombats, eagles, owls, and Eastern quolls (a native Australian marsupial "cat"), also pose a threat. The Tasmanian wolf, now extinct, used to prey on wombats.

DISEASES THEY CAN CATCH

• In the winter, foxes use wombat burrows for shelter and this can spread sarcoptic mange, a parasitic mite that digs into the wombat's skin. Mange can kill wombats, especially young or injured wombats. Mange is prevalent throughout most of the Bare nosed wombat's range, and is considered by some as the number one cause of death. Wombats are more susceptible to mange when they are under stress or undernourished.