Wombats are stocky, burrowing marsupials endemic to Australia, including the island state of Tasmania. They belong to the family Vombatidae and are phylogenetically most closely related to koalas. Though apparently adorable and affectionate, wombats get quite aggressive when threatened.
They are excellent diggers, adapted with large, flat claws, which they use to build burrows and tunnels in the soil. They also have large, rodent-like incisors that grow throughout their life. Female wombats, like all marsupials, have a marsupium, or pouch, which they use to nourish their offspring.
There are 3 extant species of wombats, namely, the common or bare-nosed wombat (under the genus Vombatus) and the northern and southern hairy-nosed wombats (under the genus Lasiorhinus).
These mammals are about 3 ft (1 m) long, weighing between 44 and 77 lb (20 and 35 kg).
Wombats, in general, have stocky, muscular bodies covered in fur that varies in color from brown and gray to black. The common wombat has coarse, dark fur, small and rounded ears, and a bald, granular nose pad (hence also called bare-nosed wombat). In contrast, hairy-nosed wombats have silky fur, larger ears, and hairy noses.
They have four short limbs (quadrupedal) with wide feet and large, flat claws. The rear end of wombats has considerably thick and tough skin, along with a vestigial tail that remains hidden in the fur.
As marsupials, female wombats have a pouch or marsupium for carrying and nourishing their young. Males possess a non-pendulous scrotum, a pair of testes with penile spines, prostate glands, and three pairs of bulbourethral glands.
The skull is dorsoventrally flattened, and its frontal, parietal, and zygomatic bones are particularly thick, adapted for efficient digging. Much like rodents, wombats have a short rostrum. They also have relatively reduced coronoid processes of the dentary bone compared to other herbivorous mammals.
Their incisors are rodent-like, too, coated with enamel only on the anterior and lateral surfaces. The incisors are set apart from the cheek teeth by a distinct gap called diastema. All teeth of wombats lack roots and grow continuously.
Wombats derive their name from the Dharug language spoken by the Dharug people, Aboriginals who initially lived in regions in and around Sydney, Australia.
The 3 extant species are divided into two genera: Vombatus and Lasiorhinus. While the first is monotypic with a single species, the common or bare-nosed wombat, the latter contains two hairy-nosed species, namely, northern and southern hairy-nosed wombats.
These marsupials are most closely related to koalas, sharing several similarities, including a glandular patch in the stomach, the loss of certain premolars, and a vestigial tail. They also share similarities in muscle morphology and the formation of a short-lived placenta.
Based on limited fossil evidence available, wombats are estimated to have diverged from other Australian marsupials, including kangaroos, possums, and bandicoots, around 40 million years ago[1]. Some evidence also suggests the divergence occurred around 25 million years ago[2].
Older wombat species, like Phascolonus gigas, were significantly larger than modern forms. Being the biggest wombat to have ever existed, it could weigh up to 790 lb (360 kg), and it went extinct around 40,000 years ago.
These animals are native to Australia (southern and eastern regions), including the island state of Tasmania. They live in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from mountains and forests to grasslands and heathlands.
Wombats are obligate herbivores and usually feed on grasses, sedges, herbs, and tubers. During dry periods, when grasses and herbs are scarce, the common wombat supplements its diet with the inner bark of trees and shrub roots[3].
They require little water, obtaining most of their moisture from their plant-based diet.
These mammals usually live between 5 and 10 years but may survive up to 15 years in the wild. In captivity, they may survive over 30 years.
Female wombats give birth to a single offspring, called a joey, after a gestation period of about 20 to 30 days, depending on the species. At birth, the joey is about the size of a jellybean, measuring only about 2 cm and weighing just about a gram. It is hairless and underdeveloped (altricial) at birth.
The joey crawls from the birth canal to the pouch and attaches to a nipple for nourishment. The joey remains in the pouch until it is 6 to 7 months old, but it continues to stay near its mother for food till around 15 months, after which it is weaned. The joey typically attains sexual maturity between 18 and 24 months, depending on environmental conditions.
The primary predator of wombats is the dingo, which kills adults when they are caught outside their burrows. Joeys become targets of foxes, wild dogs, feral cats, quolls, and Tasmanian devils. Occasionally, wedge-tailed eagles also prey on joeys.
The northern hairy-nosed wombat is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, as well as Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act 1992 and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Owing to its small population size, this species has been more susceptible to predation, competition from other grazers, drought, road deaths, and increasing habitat loss. These threats have inevitably impacted its numbers, with wild populations now restricted to only two sites, the Epping Forest National Park and Richard Underwood Nature Refuge, both in Queensland.
The southern hairy-nosed wombat and the common wombat are listed under the Least Concern (LC) category.
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