World Travel 4 Indians

Wombat in Australia

Australia is home to various unique animals. Wombat is one of them. Another very sweet member of the marsupial family, wombat is a tiny animal. It is a very innocent type of animal. Like the wallabies of Australia, these wombats have also got heir name from the Elora Aboriginal tribe, who used to live in Sydney.

The specialty of these wombats is that their front teeth are like rodent and that helps them to dig a hole in the ground, where they stay. Their claws are also very powerful.

These small creatures are very cute and shy in nature. The wombats have furry bodies and a little tail behind them. The four legs are also not very long. The weight of a wombat is almost 36 kilograms.

Their heads are big and eyes are small. They also have small ears and a little neck. Wombat is a very
shy animal and it loves to be alone. That is why you will not be able to see these little creatures very often.

The wombat is nocturnal, which means it is active at night, eating grasses, roots and shrubs. It stays in a burrow in daytime, though sometimes can be seen basking in the sun at the burrow entrance. It lives alone, except for a female with young.

Some wombat burrows can be about 20 metres long, with several entrances and chambers. A wombat generally has a number of burrows in its territory, and may visit several during its nightly wanderings.The wombat marks its territory by leaving droppings (scats) on logs and rocks.

The female's pouch has its opening facing the back legs. When she is digging, the pouch does not fill with soil.

A female wombat gives birth to one very tiny young, which moves to her pouch after being born. It stays in the pouch for about 6 months, suckling milk from a teat in the pouch. After it leaves the pouch, it will follow her for another 11 months.

Common wombats are found through forest and woodland areas along the eastern and southern coast of Australia, and in Tasmania.

The common wombat is not endangered, although its habitat is decreasing. The nose of the common wombat is naked and its ears are rounded.

Wombats generally prefer to live in the wetlands, i.e. in the forests of the coastal regions in Australia. The wombats are primarily nocturnal animals and they spend their days mostly sleeping.

Some wombats are also seen during the evenings. These cute creatures are herbivorous animals and they eat mainly sedges, grasses, herbs, bark, roots of plants and so on.

The primary three species of the wombats are the common wombats, hairy-nosed wombats and the Tasmanian wombats. All these species can be found in Australia.