Common Wombat
Nature & People
Physical Description
About the size and shape of an old-fashioned sack of potatoes, Common Wombats (Vombatus ursinus) are stout, light to dark brown, ground-dwelling and subterranean marsupials with short legs, large, blunt heads, short necks and small eyes and ears. They have sharp, chisel-like front teeth which grow continuously.
Where is it Found?
The Common Wombat lives primarily in wet, partly forested areas of the coast, ranges and western slopes. It is common in the southern part of its range, becoming rare further north.
Ecology
Wombats are mostly nocturnal, grazing on native grasses, sedges and the roots of shrubs and trees. Common Wombats live in burrows, liking well-drained soils that are easy to dig in. The burrows, often found on the sides of gullies, can be up to 30 m long and several metres deep. Wombats will often share their homes with others of their kind, but will defend their individual feeding grounds.
Threats
Settlement and agriculture have pushed Common Wombats into less-developed hills and mountains. Wild Dogs and road traffic adversely affect Wombat populations, as does competition for food with introduced animals, particularly Rabbits. This competition appears to have been a major factor in the decline of the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat in NSW.
Conservation Measures
In 1970 Wombats became the last marsupial species to be protected in NSW.
Did You Know?
The Wombat's pouch faces backwards, preventing dirt and twigs getting caught in it when digging. The Wombat is a figure of literary importance, portrayed in various lights. Banjo Patterson's Man from Snowy River knew ’the hidden ground was full of wombat holes, and any slip was death’, and one of Norman Lindsay’s Pudding Thieves was a Wombat (in cahoots with a Possum), but many people love Ruth Park's Muddle-headed Wombat.
