IN PHOTOS: MAY I BORROW YOUR BURROW?

URGENT: Over 2,000 Aussie animals and plants are at risk of extinction. Send a message to your local member of parliament, calling for stronger nature laws and adequate funding to protect threatened wildlife and the places they call home.

Strap your headlamps on as we journey into the underground labyrinth of Australia’s charming, mighty marsupial - the wombat. While they may appear cuddly, wombats pack some serious power. With their strong and sharp claws, they can dig some seriously impressive and intricate burrows that are up to 30 metres long and several metres deep!

These powerful architects of the animal kingdom have proven not only to be cozy den crafters but also critical in supporting Australia’s rich biodiversity. A new study supported by WWF-Australia has found that these underground dwellings provide crucial resources for wildlife after bushfires.

Between June 2021 and April 2022, sensor cameras were set up in front of 28 burrows of the common wombat, located in Woomargama National Park and Woomargama State Forest in southern New South Wales. These cameras recorded over 15,000 individual animals either inspecting, foraging, entering and leaving, and even bathing in the burrows!

Check out the animals that have been caught on camera thriving around the secret world of wombat burrows.

A mother wombat and her joey emerge from their burrow.

A short-beaked echidna checks out the entrance of a wombat burrow.

Anyone home? A curious red-necked wallaby inspects a burrow.

A lace monitor investigates a burrow.

A pied currawong having a drink at the local watering hole (a flooded burrow).

Wombat burrows aren’t just cozy homes for wombats. They also provide shelter and safety for other Aussie wildlife.

Sadly, many of our precious native wildlife are under threat as tree-clearing is leaving them with no home, food or shelter. We urgently need to protect remaining habitat, plant more trees and strengthen our nature laws so that we can save our beautiful animals from extinction. Your voice is critical - join the campaign to save threatened wildlife.