Common Wombat

Common Wombat Photographer - Gary Lewis Source - Gary Lewis Photography Pty. Ltd

Vombatus ursinus

Wombats are large lumbering marsupials with hollow rodent-like teeth, which grow in response to wear.

They are able to gnaw through the toughest roots and are a problem when they meet obstacles like fences. Generally they feed on grass, but also consume bark and fungi. Short sharp claws enable them to dig burrows in hard soil. They also shelter in burrows and hollow logs.

In winter, the female produces a single young which spends its first few months within the rear-facing pouch.

Wombats are often found as road kills in the Melbourne area, and may be seen in coastal scrub and heath. They live in dry and wet forest, woodland, coastal heath, but not closed forests.

Removal of habitat coupled with dense road traffic are the main threats to wombat survival.