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Wombats
Wombats are an Australian burrowing animal. There are three species; The Common Wombat, Vombatus ursinus, The Southern Hairy
Nosed Wombat, Lasiorhinus latifrons, and the Northern Hairy Nosed
Wombat, Lasiorhinus krefftii.
Relatives
The nearest living relative to the Wombat is the
Koala. There are several extinct species
of Wombat. They are also related to theDiprotodon which was the biggest extinct Marsupial known.
Size
Wombats can grow to over 30 Kilograms (66 pounds)
although the average is less. They are
the biggest burrowing herbivorous animal in the world. Wombats have a big brain for their size.
Intelligence
Wombats are an intelligent animal but people disagree
about how intelligent. Some put its
intelligence as being roughly equal to that of a Dog while others think they
are quite a bit more intelligent than a Dog.
This is surprising.
High intelligence usually seems to be associated with predators like
Dogs, Cats and Quolls, or with Omnivores like Humans, Pigs and Apes.
Considering the fairly high energy requirements to
grow and support a big brain, and the Wombats diet and life style it is
particularly odd.
Diet
Wombats are mostly grazing animals, preferring to eat
young green native grasses. The vicinity
of active Wombat burrows is often covered with short green “lawns”. In times of drought they will eat more
fibrous things like the bark and roots of trees.
Digestion
Wombats have an extremely efficient digestive
system. It is better at getting all
possible nutrients from the sometimes indigestible food than the digestion of
animals like Cattle and Rabbits.
Water
Wombats use the water from their food very
efficiently. One simple way they save
water is to go underground in hot weather, only coming out at night. They may go a long time without drinking, but
can drink deeply if they need to.
Threats
Wombats are threatened by many things.
Humans kill them with guns and poisons because of the
nuisance of their burrows.
Vehicles run into them on the roads.
Rabbits come and eat their preferred foods.
Foxes spread Mange that can kill a Wombat.
Climate
change potentially threatens them in
many parts of their range. Wombats need
good seasons to raise the babies. If
there are less good seasons now they may not be able to have babies.
Fumigation and ripping of their borrows occurs. Sometimes it is actually aimed at Rabbits
rather than Wombats.
Types of
Wombat
Northern
hairy nosed Wombat
This species only occurs in a small area of Queensland. Although there is some evidence of increase
in numbers, it is critically endangered, and is very close to extinction.
There may only be about 25 females of breeding age.
Southern
Hairy Nosed Wombat
This Wombat lives in southern South
Australia and adjacent parts of Western Australia. There is disagreement about how threatened
this species is. Certainly there is no
cause for complacency.
Common
Wombat
This is the Wombat that is least threatened. In fact it does not even have legal
protection over all its range yet.
It lives in Tasmania
and coastal areas of Victoria, New
South Wales, southern Queensland
and a small part of south eastern South
Australia.
Web Wombat
The Web Wombat is an Australian Search Engine.
The Diprotodon is the largest extinct marsupial known. It is often refered to as a giant Wombat, and it appears to be closely related.
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