Wombats live in the woodlands, coastlands, mountain forests, and shrublands of southeast Australia. Wombat burrows, which can be 10 to 100 feet long and 11.5 feet deep, are highly complex, with interconnecting tunnels, designated sleeping chambers, and sometimes several entrances and exits. Wombats have different burrows for different purposes. Some house only one or two wombats, some house family groups. Wombats may also be sociable, visiting each other’s burrows. The burrows are also sometimes used by other species, such as wallabies, rabbits, foxes, and lizards. Geography: Today, October 22, is the annual wombat day for Australians since 2005. Adjusting for time zones, the world wombat day is rather celebrated on October 23rd.

Like most marsupials, wombats carry their young (often called a joey) in a front pouch. The young climb into the pouch shortly after birth and remain there till they are developed enough to emerge into the world. The main habitat for the Bare-nosed Wombat is the temperate forest-covered areas of southeastern Australia. The species tends to avoid rainforests and is often found in the mountainous areas. In southern Queensland and northern New South Wales it is found only in sclerophyll forest above 600 m. In South Australia and Tasmania it also occurs at lower altitudes in more open vegetation – woodland, coastal scrub and heathland.

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Wombats are shy, but playful animals, that have been known to chase, roll, jump and flip for fun. They are herbivores with a very slow metabolism, that can take up to 2 weeks to digest a single meal. They are able to live in very arid environments, but prefer a wet climate with forests, grasslands, and like their cousin the Koalas, eucalyptus forests. They are, however, adaptable to various habitats: from forests to plains, mountains, snowy and heath-land (shrub) areas. The three species are the Bare-Nosed Wombat (Vombatus Ursinus), the Southern Hairy-nosed (Lasiorhinus latifrons), and the Northern Hairy Nosed (Lasiorhinus krefftii). We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen. A statue of Fatso was actually erected outside Sydney’s Stadium after the games, but was stolen a few months later, presumably by some avid fans! Facts about wombats – more animal facts!

At birth, the joey is not yet fully developed. It weighs only 0.25 ounces and is only 0.5 inches. The newborn must crawl from the birth canal to the mother’s pouch and attach itself to a nipple. The joey will not peak itself out of the pouch until it is 6 months old and will not leave the pouch until it is 9 to 10 months old. The joey is weaned from its mother after about 12 to 15 months. Social Structure: A wombat usually leaves the burrow after sunset and begins to graze for several hours. During this time, it may return to its burrow to rest, or seek refuge, and it will return to sleep generally before sunrise. However, in cool or overcast days the animals are known to forage longer and during the day.But wombats mostly prefer to forage for food at night where, as herbivores, they spend most of their time foraging for specific types of grasses. This is to limit the loss of water during hot days and to avoid predators. To give this some perspective, the wombat drawing was created around the beginning of the bronze age. 11. Closely related to Koala Bears!

Wombats are pretty shy creatures. They have been known to live together, but usually only via connected burrows. Wombats are generally classed as solitary animals despite the overlapping ranges and occasional sharing of the burrows. Therefore, communication between two individuals is often threatening or aggressive. A warning call is usually a low guttural growl, but when a wombat is alarmed or angered, rasping hiss can also be heard. The animal repeats this high, loud call as it expels air. Sometimes the call can be a more aggressive ‘chikker chikker’ sound and/or a more guttural sound similar to that of an angry brushtail possum. Of the three wombat species, the Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat is currently on the endangered animals’ list. 16. Wombats evolved to dig Triggs, B. (1996) The Wombat: Common Wombats in Australia. Australian Natural History Series, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney. Pp.: xi+148. Wombat burrows are continuously being built by their owners into a long, complex network of tunnels and warrens.They grew to a height of 6 feet (1.8 meters) and weighed up to a whopping 3 tons. The equivalent to a rhinoceros. They can feed between 3-8 hours per night, and spend the rest of the time digging new or more tunnels and improving tunnel chambers, entrances, and exits. In the early 1900s, the Australian government declared wombats pests and encouraged people to kill them. Approximately 63,000 wombat skins were redeemed for cash between 1926 and 1965. Since that time, this practice has stopped and wombat conservation has gained importance. The common wombat and southern hairy-nosed wombat populations are more stable than that of the northern hairy-nosed wombat. However, all three species face a number of threats, including land clearing, habitat competition with cattle, poison bait set out for rabbit control, drought, road deaths, predation and disease. Conservation Status: The pouch forms a safe place for wombat babies to grow and develop, as they are very small and helpless when they are firstborn. 14. There are three species of wombat The common wombat is widespread, populating Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. The northern hairy-nosed wombat is found only in Queensland, and the southern hairy-nosed wombat is found in a small region of the southern central coastline of Australia.