Wombats are short-legged, muscularquadrupedalmarsupials of the familyVombatidae that are native toAustralia. Living species are about 1 m (40 in) in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between 20 and 35 kg (44 and 77 lb). They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are found in forested, mountainous, andheathland areas of southern and eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as an isolated patch of about 300 ha (740 acres) inEpping Forest National Park[2] in central Queensland.
Etymology
The name "wombat" comes from the now nearly extinctDharug language spoken by the aboriginalDharug people, who originally inhabited the Sydney area.[3] It was first recorded in January 1798, when John Price and James Wilson, Europeans who had adopted aboriginal ways, visited the area of what is nowBargo, New South Wales. Price wrote: "We saw several sorts of dung of different animals, one of which Wilson called a 'Whom-batt', which is an animal about 20 inches [51 cm] high, with short legs and a thick body with a large head, round ears, and very small eyes; is very fat, and has much the appearance of a badger."[4] Wombats were often calledbadgers by early settlers because of their size and habits. Because of this, localities such asBadger Creek, Victoria, and Badger Corner, Tasmania, were named after the wombat.[5] The spelling went through many variants over the years, including "wambat", "whombat", "womat", "wombach", and "womback", possibly reflecting dialectal differences in the Darug language.[3]
Evolution and taxonomy
Though genetic studies of the Vombatidae have been undertaken, evolution of the family is not well understood. Wombats are estimated to have diverged from other Australian marsupials relatively early, as long as 40 million years ago, while some estimates place divergence at around 25 million years.[6]: 10– Some prehistoric wombat genera greatly exceeded modern wombats in size. The largest known wombat,Phascolonus, which went extinct approximately 40,000 years ago,[7] is estimated to have had a body mass of up to 360 kilograms (790 lb).[8]
Wombats dig extensive burrow systems with their rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. One distinctive adaptation of wombats is their backward pouch. The advantage of a backward-facing pouch is that when digging, the wombat does not gather soil in its pouch over its young. Although mainlycrepuscular andnocturnal, wombats may also venture out to feed on cool or overcast days. They are not commonly seen, but leave ample evidence of their passage, treating fences as minor inconveniences to be gone through or under.
Wombats leave distinctivecubicfaeces.[9] As wombats arrange these feces to mark territories and attract mates, it is believed that the cubic shape makes them more stackable and less likely to roll, which gives this shape a biological advantage. The method by which the wombat produces them is not well understood, but it is believed that the wombat intestine stretches preferentially at the walls, with two flexible and two stiff areas around its intestines.[10] The adult wombat produces between 80 and 100, 2 cm (0.8 in) pieces of feces in a single night, and four to eight pieces each bowel movement.[11][12] In 2019 the production of cube-shaped wombat feces was the subject of theIg Nobel Prize for Physics, won by Patricia Yang andDavid Hu.[13][14]
All wombat teeth lack roots and are ever-growing, like the incisors of rodents.[15] Wombats areherbivores;[16][17][18] theirdiets consist mostly ofgrasses,sedges,herbs,bark, androots. Theirincisor teeth somewhat resemble those ofrodents (rats, mice, etc.), being adapted for gnawing tough vegetation. Like many other herbivorous mammals, they have a largediastema between their incisors and the cheek teeth, which are relatively simple. Thedental formula of wombats is1.0.1.41.0.1.4 × 2 = 24.
Wombats' fur can vary from a sandy colour to brown, or from grey to black. All three known extant species average around 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) in length and weigh between 20 and 35 kg (44 and 77 lb).
Male wombats havepenile spines, a non-pendulousscrotum, and three pairs ofbulbourethral glands. Thetestes,prostate, and bulbourethral glands enlarge during thebreeding season.[19] Female wombats give birth to a single young after agestation period of roughly 20–30 days, which varies between species.[20][21] All species have well-developedpouches, which the young leave after about six to seven months. Wombats areweaned after 15 months, and are sexually mature at 18 months.[22]
A group of wombats is known as a wisdom,[23][24] a mob, or a colony.[25]
Wombats typically live up to 15 years in the wild, but can live past 20 and even 30 years in captivity.[26][27] The longest-lived captive wombat lived to 34 years of age.[27]
In 2020, biologists discovered that wombats, like many other Australian marsupials, display bio-fluorescence under ultraviolet light.[28][29][30]
Dentition, as illustrated in Knight'sSketches in Natural History
Wombats have an extraordinarily slowmetabolism, taking around 8 to 14 days to completedigestion, which aids their survival in arid conditions.[22] They generally move slowly.[31] Wombats defend home territories centred on their burrows, and they react aggressively to intruders. The common wombat occupies a range of up to 23 ha (57 acres), while the hairy-nosed species have much smaller ranges, of no more than 4 ha (10 acres).[22]
Dingos andTasmanian devils prey on wombats. Extinct predators were likely to have includedThylacoleo and possibly thethylacine (Tasmanian tiger). Their primary defence is their toughened rear hide, with most of theposterior made ofcartilage. This, combined with its lack of a meaningful tail, makes it difficult for any predator that follows the wombat into its tunnel to bite and injure its target. When attacked, wombats dive into a nearby tunnel, using their rumps to block a pursuing attacker.[32] According to anurban legend, wombats sometimes allow an intruder to force its head over the wombat's back, and then use its powerful legs to crush the skull of the predator against the roof of the tunnel. However, there is no evidence to support this.[33]
Wombats are generally quiet animals. Bare-nosed wombats can make a number of different sounds, more than the hairy-nosed wombats. Wombats tend to be more vocal during mating season. When angered, they can make hissing sounds. Their call sounds somewhat like a pig's squeal. They can also make grunting noises, a low growl, a hoarse cough, and a clicking noise.[34]
Species
The threeextant species of wombat[1] are allendemic to Australia and a few offshore islands. They are protected under Australian law.[35]
Depictions of the animals inrock art are exceptionally rare, though examples estimated to be up to 4,000 years old have been discovered inWollemi National Park.[38] The wombat is depicted in aboriginalDreamtime as an animal of little worth. The mainland stories tell of the wombat as originating from a person named Warreen whose head had been flattened by a stone and tail amputated as punishment for selfishness. In contrast, the Tasmanian aboriginal story first recorded in 1830 tells of the wombat (known as thedrogedy orpubledina) the great spirit Moihernee had asked hunters to leave alone. In both cases, the wombat is regarded as having been banished to its burrowing habitat.[39] Estimates of wombat distribution prior to European settlement are that numbers of all three surviving species were prolific and that they covered a range more than ten times greater than that of today.[6]
Wombats were classified as vermin in 1906, and a bounty was introduced in 1925.[6]: 103 This and the removal of a substantial amount of habitat have greatly reduced their numbers and range.[44]
Attacks on humans
In addition to being bitten, humans can receive puncture wounds from wombat claws. Startled wombats can also charge humans and bowl them over,[45] with the attendant risks of broken bones from the fall. One naturalist,Harry Frauca, once received a bite 2 cm (0.8 in) deep into the flesh of his leg—through a rubber boot, trousers and thick woollen socks.[46] A UK newspaper,The Independent, reported that on 6 April 2010, a 59-year-old man from rural Victoria state was mauled by a wombat (thought to have been angered bymange),[47] causing a number of cuts and bite marks requiring hospital treatment. He resorted to killing it with an axe.[48]
Cultural significance
Some farmers consider common wombats to be a nuisance due primarily to their burrowing behaviour. "Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat" was the tongue-in-cheek "unofficial" mascot of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Since 2005, an unofficial holiday called Wombat Day has been observed on 22 October.[49]
Wombat meat has been a source of bush food from the arrival of Aboriginal Australians to the arrival of Europeans. Due to the protection of the species, wombat meat as food is no longer part of mainstream Australian cuisine, but wombat stew was once one of the few truly Australian dishes.[50] In the 20th century, the more easily found rabbit meat was more commonly used. (Rabbits are now considered aninvasive pest in Australia.) The name of the dish is also used by a popular children's book and musical.[51]
Wombats have featured in Australian postage stamps and coins. The hairy-nosed wombats have featured mainly to highlight their elevated conservation status. The northern hairy-nosed wombat featured on an Australian 1974 20-cent stamp and also an Australian 1981 five-cent stamp. The common wombat has appeared on a 1987 37-cent stamp and an Australian 1996 95-cent stamp. The 2006 Australian Bush Babies stamp series features an AU$1.75-stamp of a baby common wombat, and the 2010 Rescue to Release series features a 60-cent stamp of a common wombat being treated by a veterinarian. Wombats are rarely seen on circulated Australian coins, an exception is a 50-cent coin which also shows akoala andlorikeet. The common wombat appeared on a 2005 commemorative $1 coin and the northern hairy-nosed wombat on a 1998 Australia Silver Proof $10 coin.[52]
Many places in Australia have been named after the wombat, including a large number of places where they are now locally extinct in the wild. References to the locally extinct common wombat can be found in parts of the Central Highlands of Victoria, for example theWombat State Forest and Wombat Hill inDaylesford. Other significant places named after the wombat includes the town ofWombat, New South Wales and the suburb ofQuoiba, Tasmania. Numerous less significant Australian places, including hotels, are named after the animals. Prominent sculptures of wombats include in South Australia: "The Big Wombat" at Scotdesco Aboriginal Community (Tjilkaba) andWudinna visitor information centre,Adelaide Zoo andNorwood; New South Wales:Wombat, New South Wales; Victoria:Daylesford,Trentham, Victoria andKinglake; Tasmania:Steppes State Reserve.
Wombats have also been a feature of Australian television. While wombats are not generally kept as pets, a notable depiction of a common wombat as a pet is Fatso from the Australian television showA Country Practice. The Brisbane television showWombat was also named for the animals.
Australian literature contains many references to the wombat. Examples are Mr. Walter Wombat from the adventures ofBlinky Bill and one of the main antagonists inThe Magic Pudding byNorman Lindsay.
Despite its name, the common wombat is no longer as common as it once was, and is under significant threat.[57][58] However, in eastern Victoria, they are not protected, and they are considered by some to be pests, especially due to the damage they cause to rabbit-proof fences.[54][59] Opportunistic research studies have been conducted on the immune system of common wombats, which could be used as a tool for future conservation efforts.[60]
WomSAT, a citizen science project, was established in 2016 to record sightings of wombats across the country.[61][62][63] The website and mobile phone app can be used to log sightings of live or deceased wombats and wombat burrows. Since its establishment the project has recorded over 23,000 sightings across New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.[64][65] More recently, the citizen science project has published findings on wombat roadkill[66] and sarcoptic mange incidence[67] across Australia.
^"Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat".Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Australian Government. Retrieved2 July 2011.
^abButler, Susan (2009).The Dinkum Dictionary: The Origins of Australian Words. Text Publishing. p. 266.ISBN978-1-921799-10-5.
^Reed, Alexander Wyclif (1969).Place-names of New South Wales, their origins and meanings. Reed. p. 152.
^Marinacci, Peter."Wombat Behavior".Wombania's Wombat Information Center. Retrieved24 September 2020.Wombats walk with a somewhat awkward, shuffling or waddling gait.
^abWells, R.T. (1989)."Volume 1B Mammalia"(PDF). In Walton, D.W. (ed.).Vombatidae. Richardson, B.J. AGPS Canberra/Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts – Commonwealth of Australia. p. 4.ISBN978-0-644-06056-1. Retrieved30 December 2009.
^Simpson, J. (16 January 2009)."The 'wombat' trail – David Nash".Transient Languages & Cultures. The University of Sydney. Archived fromthe original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved30 December 2009.
^Middleton, Amy (22 October 2009)."The day of the wombat".Australian Geographic. Archived fromthe original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved13 August 2010.
^'International Recipes from Balmain'. The Canberra Times. Monday 19 December 1977. pg 10
Will Cuppy,How to Attract the Wombat, with illustrations by Ed Nofziger, David R. Godiine, 2002,ISBN1-56792-156-6 (Originally published 1949, Rhinehart).
Jackie French,The Secret World of Wombats, with illustrations by Bruce Whatley, Harper Collins Publishers, 2005,ISBN0-207-20031-9.
Jackie French,Christmas Wombat, with illustrations by Bruce Whatley, Clarion Books, 2012,ISBN978-0547868721.
Barbara Triggs,Wombats, Houghton Mifflin Australia Pty, 1990,ISBN0-86770-114-5. Facts and photographs of wombats for children.
Barbara Triggs,The Wombat: Common Wombats in Australia, University of New South Wales Press, 1996,ISBN0-86840-263-X.
James Woodford,The Secret Life of Wombats, Text Publishing, 2002,ISBN1-877008-43-5.
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