12 FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT WOMBATS

Wombats are under threat across Australia from habitat loss, vehicle collisions and predators. By symbolically adopting a wombat today, you can help protect the species and their habitats into the future.

Feisty, silly, chunky, elusive… there are so many things to love about wombats. Hailing from southern and eastern Australia, these stout marsupials are known all over the world for their viral videos and zoomies. But there’s more to this iconic Aussie animal than meets the eye. For example, did you know a group of wombats is called a wisdom? Dig in (pun intended) to these fascinating facts and find out why wombats might just become your next favourite animal.

1. There are three different species of wombat

While they are all brown, hairy and adorable, there are actually three different species of wombat – the bare-nosed wombat, the southern hairy-nosed wombat and the northern hairy-nosed wombat. All are found only in Australia. Bare-nosed wombats (also known as common wombats, but we think they’re anything but!) are found in cool and wet parts of southern and eastern Australia, including Vic. and Tas. You can recognise them by their small ears and round noses. Southern hairy-nosed wombats inhabit drier regions, including grasslands and open woodlands in WA, SA and NSW. They have larger ears than their bare-nosed counterparts and are the smallest wombat species. Look out for their wide, snout-like nose, covered in fine hairs. Their larger cousin, the northern hairy-nosed wombat, has the largest ears and nose of all the species and is also the heaviest. These big wombats can only be found in protected areas in Qld.

2. Wombats have cubed-shaped poo

The wombat’s unique digestive tract and lengthy digestion process (taking four times longer than a human’s) produce the distinct cube-shaped faeces the animal is known for. Wombats use their scat to mark their territory and attract a mate, so scientists think the unusual shape means the droppings won’t roll off the logs and rocks wombats so often poo on. Now that’s one way to say ‘hi’! Want to learn more about the unique wombat poop? Tune into episode three of Scat Chat with WWF-Australia for all your cube-shaped poo questions.

3. Their teeth never stop growing

Wombats are herbivores and spend their days munching on native grasses and sedges and on the roots of shrubs and trees. To do this, they use their sharp chisel-like front teeth, which grow continuously so they don’t get ground down by the wombat’s tough diet.

4. Wombat warrens can be seen from space!

Wombats are master diggers that use their powerful claws to help them dig into up to 1m of hard dirt per night as they construct vast networks of burrows and tunnels – some of which can be 30m long! These networks are called warrens. Wombat warrens are so distinct that they can actually be seen from space. In remote areas, scientists have used satellite imagery to find and identify wombat warrens by spotting the lighter coloured dirt patches caused by digging around the burrow’s entrance, as well as the trails connecting them.

5. Their digging habits help ecosystems

All this digging not only creates these impressive warrens for shelter but also plays a really important role in the surrounding environment. As wombats dig, they help to aerate the soil by breaking up hard clumps of earth, as well as cycling organic material and improving water penetration.

6. Wombats have backward-facing pouches

Wombats are marsupials, which means they raise their young in a pouch on the front of their body. To protect their joeys, they have a pouch that faces backward (towards their rear) so it doesn’t fill up with dirt as they dig!

7. Their burrows help other animals after bushfires

It seems that wombats aren’t the only animals to use their burrows! A 2024 WWF-supported study found that these underground dwellings can provide crucial resources like shelter and water for animals in the aftermath of bushfire events. Images of over 15,000 individual animals showed critters like echidnas, wallabies, bush rats, lizards and birds interacting with wombat burrows. What were they doing? Inspecting, foraging, entering and leaving the burrows, or even bathing in and drinking from the water that pooled inside them. Take a look for yourself.

8. Wombats glow in the dark

Well, not exactly, but they do glow under UV light! After a researcher in the US discovered that a platypus specimen glowed green under UV light, scientists in Australia were excited to discover that a number of other Australian animals, including wombats, do as well. This phenomenon is called biofluorescence and has to do with how parts of an organism, in this case the wombats’ thick hair, absorb and emit light waves.

9. Their stocky bums help protect them from predators

Wombat posteriors are made of thick cartilage and are super tough. When threatened, wombats can shelter in their burrows head-first and use their rock-hard bums to plug up the tunnel’s entrance. While it sure would hurt, a bite to the bum from a predator won’t be fatal, leaving the wombat to live another day.

10. Wombats can run at a speed of up to 40km per hour!

Though it’s usual to see wombats lumbering along, they can run in surprisingly fast bursts when threatened – at up to 40km per hour, in fact! How do we know this? Researchers in South Australia looked at the relative speed of their vehicles when trying to catch wombats for monitoring. That’s just shy of Usain Bolt’s 2009 world record!

11. Northern hairy-nosed wombats are top of their class in size and rarity

The northern hairy-nosed wombat holds numerous titles – both good and bad. Weighing up to 40kg, they are the largest burrowing marsupial in the world. However, it’s their conservation status of Critically Endangered and the fact that there are less than 100 individuals left in the wild that makes this species one of the rarest mammals in the world.

12. Wombats are facing increasing threats in the wild

Sadly, wild wombats face a number of threats, including habitat destruction and vehicle collisions. Young wombats are also vulnerable to predators like foxes and domestic dogs can threaten wombats of all ages. But there is something you can do to help. Adopt a wombat today, and you’ll be helping to secure the future of this special animal.