Creature Feature….the digging machine called Wombat!

Interesting Facts

Wombats are natural digging machines and perform a very important role in our ecosystem. Wombats can dramatically improve soil health by bringing important nutrients to the surface and help organic matter and plant seedling mix into compacted soil through their burrowing actions.

But sadly, wombats are disappearing.

The fatal combination of disease, increasing habitat loss, road deaths and extreme weather events are all serious threats to the future of our precious wombats.

• The Northern Hairy-nosed wombat is listed as Critically Endangered under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Redlist of Threatened Species and is presumed extinct in NSW
• The Southern Hairy-nosed wombat is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN as is listed as Endangered in NSW
• The Bare-nosed wombat, known as the Common wombat, is becoming mush less common with increasingly smaller ranges

Wombat burrows also provide shelter for many other native species and protection from non-native predators.

Like are marsupials, wombats give birth to highly underdeveloped young called joeys and raise them in a pouch. Unlike other marsupials, the pouch of the wombat faces backwards to prevent soil getting in while digging. Wombat poop is cube-shaped and is considerable drier than the scat of other mammals.

The Koala’s closest living relative, wombats are only found in Australia and are among the largest burrowing mammals in the world.

The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat is the largest burrowing marsupial in the world, and one of Australia’s rarest mammals.