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ZooNooz Article - March 2003
Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat
Story by ANDREW PARNELL
Photograph Robert Dockerill
Illustration Ngaire Sales
Bulldozers of the bush
Australia is home to all three species of wombat. The two species of Hairy-nosed Wombats, Southern and Northern, can be distinguished from the Common Wombat by their silky fur, longer ears and, not surprisingly, hairier noses! The other major difference is that the Hairy-nosed Wombats live on plains, whilst the more abundant and widely distributed, Common Wombats live in forests. Taronga has a male and a female Common Wombat.
Hairy-nosed Wombats |
The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat can be found in southern South Australia (where it is the mammal State emblem) and the eastern Nullarbor Plain, and is common within this limited range. The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat has a very small range, in Queensland's Epping Forest National Park, and is critically endangered. Agriculture-related factors have been the major reason for the significant decline of both these species.
Water - every drop is precious
Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats live in areas with low rainfall, high daytime and low night temperatures, and very dry food. Their most important way of dealing with this climate and lack of water is by digging extensive burrow warrens up to 30m long and several metres deep - sometimes large enough to be detected from space! As with all wombats, the Southern Hairy-nosed species is well built for digging. At the end of their stubby, powerful legs are small toes with stout, sharp, flattened claws. The warrens are well ventilated, remaining humid and cool during the day, and becoming warm at night.
A tiny jellybean-sized joey is born 21 days after mating and attaches itself to a teat in its mother's pouch.
About 80 percent of their time is spent in the burrow warrens, mostly asleep. They feed at night on the dewy grass near the warren, thus conserving energy and body moisture. Sharp, chisel-like teeth are used to cut grass and herbs, which they finely grind down before digestion. This activity wears their teeth, which grow continuously from the root. Their metabolism works very slowly - they take up to eight days to digest their food, and produce only a small amount of liquid waste.
Caution - wombat at home!
Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats use their keen hearing and strong sense of smell to detect danger and when threatened can run at up to 40kph for short distances. One of their main defensive weapons is a hard rump which can be used very effectively to seal the entrance to their burrows! Predators can be further deterred by powerful kicks and, if persistent, can be crushed against the walls of the burrow. Sometimes the remains of dingoes, foxes and even domestic dogs with their skulls crushed, can be found near wombat warrens. When attempting to extricate a captive wombat, keepers need to take care not to allow any fingers, toes, arms or legs to become crushed against the sides of the burrow!
Taronga has five new Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats from an area in South Australia that had been very badly drought affected.
Warrens are home to five to ten male and female Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats, who tend to ignore each other except during breeding season - July to December.
A tiny jellybean-sized joey is born 21 days after mating and attaches itself to a teat in its mother's pouch. With the pouch entrance facing backwards, the joey's new home does not fill up with dirt every time its mother starts digging!
Venturing from the pouch after six months, the joey will continue to return to its mobile home for up to a year. They are fully grown after two years, sexually mature at three and live for about 10 years in the wild and over 20 years in captivity. Given their slow reproductive rate and tendency to stop breeding during drought, three years of good rain is needed before an area's population can increase. All three species are difficult to breed in captivity, though Taronga Western Plains Zoo has had success with Common Wombats.
New digs
Taronga has five new Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats from an area in South Australia that had been very badly drought affected. They were in extremely poor condition and have been receiving specialist care in the hope they will recover. This brings Taronga's population of this species to two males and five females, the lucky recipients of a significant accommodation upgrade in the new Backyard to Bush exhibit. Visitors enter an enormous wombat burrow complete with tree roots poking through the ceiling. Specially heated floors provide a comfortable climate all year round, and the wombats, (seen through glass panels) will probably be asleep!
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