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The word 'wombat' is used generally to describe all
species of wombats that reside in Australia. For the purposes
of the following information, ‘wombat’ tends
to refer to the species of wombat known as the ‘Common
Wombat’.
General Description
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A juvenile common wombat
('Abigail') around 18kg |
Wombats are large, nocturnal, herbivorous, burrowing marsupials
that are native to the continent of Australia. Both male
and female wombats are solidly built with squat, round, bear
like bodies with a large strong skull and a short stumpy
tail. They have small eyes and ears, but a large nose which,
depending upon the type of wombat species, may be hairless
or covered in hair. (The nose of the common wombat does not
have hair). Wombats have short legs, large paws with five
toes ending in strong blade-like claws. The hind paws of
the wombat contain four claws with the fifth toe looking
like a small clawless thumb.
Adult male common wombats on mainland Australia have a length
ranging from 1 to 1.3 metres (3.3 to 4.3 feet) and can weigh
up to 40kg (88 lbs), with females being slightly smaller
in size and weight. The fur of a wombat is coarse, with an
even colour ranging from black, dark grey, silver grey, chocolate
brown, grey brown to cream.
Despite the wombat’s large size, they can sustain
bursts of speed at 40kph (24.8mph) over short distances of
around 150 metres (492 feet). Wombats are also excellent
swimmers.
Location
Australia is host to three species of wombat, which are:
 The Common
Wombat (Vombatus ursinus), also known
as the Naked Nosed Wombat or the Forest Wombat. 'Common
Wombat' is the preferred term for this species (Russell
is a Common Wombat). This wombat is found predominantly
in the temperate regions of Australia.
- The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus
latifrons). The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat is found
in the arid/semi-arid regions of South Australia.
- The critically endangered Northern
Hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii).
The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat is found in only one place
within Australia - Epping State Forest in central Queensland.
More information on this wombat can be found in the the Queensland
Conservation Council website.
The Common Wombat is further sub-divided into three subspecies:
- Vombatus ursinus ursinus (found on Flinders Island
in the Bass Strait - between mainland Australia and Tasmania).
- Vombatus ursinus tasmaniensis (found in
Tasmania).
- Vombatus ursinus hirsutus (found on the
Australian mainland).
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Map of Australia showing
the distribution of all 3 wombat species
(source - Australian Geographic
Magazine, No.30, April-June 1993)
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