Junior RangerS www.juniorrangers.com.au JR FACT FILE Common Wombat Vombatus ursinus
At a Glance Their burrows can extend 20 or 30 Wombats are a solitary animal in the metres below the ground. Burrows wild. They are particular about their Size: are usually made by digging into a feeding grounds which they mark by Grows to an average length of one hillside or creek bank. leaving scent trails and their unique square droppings around the metre and 27 kilograms in weight. The Common Wombat grows to an boundaries. They confront intruding What It Eats: average of one metre in length and wombats with a series of snorts, 27 kilograms in weight. Although Grasses, tree bark, leaves, roots and screeches and even a chase. they can grow slightly longer and fungi. weigh up to 36 kilograms. They are Generally only one wombat lives in a Life Span: solidly built with a squat, round, bear burrow; however the overlap of like body, small ears and eyes, and a home ranges does occasionally result Wombats live to around five years in large hairless nose. in joining burrows and a number of the wild but can live up to 27 years Wombats using the same burrow. in captivity. Their thick, coarse fur varies in colour from sandy brown to grey and Wombats are mainly nocturnal, Habitat: black, and is sometimes flecked with spending most of the day sleeping in Dry and wet forest, woodland and lighter brown. a burrow. However during winter in coastal heathlands. cooler areas they are sometimes seen As well as the Common Wombat, out during the day. As the sun goes What Is a wombat? there are two other species of down wombats come out to graze Wombat found in Australia. The The Common Wombat is the worlds when temperatures are lower. They Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat and largest burrowing herbivorous (which graze and forage for three to eight the endangered Northern Hairy- means plant eating) mammal. It is hours, travelling many kilometres and Nosed Wombat. The closest relative so good at burrowing that early visiting up to four burrows within of the wombat is the koala. settlers called it a ‘badger’. They use their home range to rest. their strong front legs with short Where Do Wombats Live? As part of their daily activity, they flattened claws to dig, and their back The Common Wombat is found enjoy rubbing against logs or legs to push the loose earth and throughout most of Australia. It branches. If used often enough, these rocks away. inhabits coastal scrub and heath, rubbing posts can be recognised by dry or wet forest and woodland. their worn or polished appearance.
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P A A i r r k o s v i c t Junior RangerS www.juniorrangers.com.au Common Wombat Vombatus ursinus
Fascinating Facts: What Does a Wombat Eat? Threats: - A wombat’s pouch faces Being a herbivore, the diet of the Wedge-tailed Eagles are one of wombat is plant material. Its the wombats predators, although backwards, designed so that favourite food is native grass, their major threats are habitat it doesn’t fill up with soil although shrubs, roots, sedges, bark, destruction, competition with when burrowing. moss and herbs are also eaten. introduced animals such as cattle, When there isn’t much food, they sheep and rabbits as well as - They have hollow rodent may dig up clumps of dead grass and road accidents. eat the roots. like teeth which never stop The rump of the wombat is covered growing. A Wombat’s Family Life: by a very tough, thick skin. When threatened, a wombat will dive into a Wombats reach maturity at two nearby burrow or hollow log, using years, which is about the age they its rump as protection from the teeth begin breeding. Although wombats and claws of its attacker. If the can breed at any time of the year, attacker follows the wombat into the mating usually occurs during winter. burrow it can use this hard rump to Thirty days after mating the newborn crush the attacker against the ceiling wombat arrives weighing only one of the burrow. gram and less than three Want to Know More? centimetres in length (the size of a twenty cent coin!). After birth, the www.zoo.org.au newborn crawls into the mother’s www.dpi.vic.gov.au pouch. The young wombat will stay in the pouch for six months for protection and to feed. When the young wombat is old enough to leave the pouch, it still remains close to its mother for another twelve months, ready to take refuge if threatened by predators. Due to the long period of time that young wombats are dependent on their mother, wombats only give birth to one young every two years.
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