Wombats are herbivorous and their diet mainly consists of grasses
including Snow Tussocks preferred by Common Wombat, and Spear Grass
preferred by Southern Hairy-nosed wombat. As compared to its size, the
wombat eats very little, only a third as much as a comparably sized
kangaroo and a quarter as much as a similar-sized sheep. Since they eat
so little, they do not have to spend a great deal of their time
foraging.
They prefer young tender grass shoots herbs, roots including roots of
grasses, bushes and trees, fungi including mushrooms and puffballs,
shrubs, bark, especially the inner bark of certain trees, mosses,
leaves, and marsh plants.
The Common Wombat’s diet
Through the analysis of faeces deposited by Common Wombats (Vombatus
ursinus) in native forest and pine plantations of various areas of New
South Wales, it has been found that grasses are the main food eaten in
both forest types regardless of the varying availability of this type of
vegetation. Other vegetation, such as barks, roots and pine needles, are
also eaten, particularly in areas where grasses are less common.
The Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat’s diet
The Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat feeds nearly for about two hours each
night in the summer and six hours in the winter. In the wet season, a
Northern, hairy-nosed wombat's feeding range is about 3 ha (7.5 acres),
and in the dry season, it's about 6 ha (15 acres). The Northern
Hairy-Nosed Wombat's favourite grasses are spear grass, tussock grass,
and poa grass, which serves highly nutritious. They hardly eat weeping
grass and reed bent grass.
Diet type and water intake pattern
During times of shortage or droughts, Wombats are seen to dig up dead
grass to get to the roots. Moreover, a Wombat's diet being nutritionally
poor, low in protein and high in fibre, enables them to conserve as much
energy as possible. Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombats have an especially low
metabolism.
Wombats also limit their water loss, so they can go for a long time
without drinking water. By staying in their burrow during the heat of
the day, they help to conserve water. They require less water than
almost any other mammal. They only need about 20% of a sheep's water
requirement, and 25% of a kangaroo's.
As Hairy-Nosed Wombats live in dry and arid climates, it is quite
expected that the only water they will get is from the plants they eat.
They also get some water from dew. They can go for many weeks, perhaps
months, without touching water. After heavy shower, they tend to drink
quite a lot. Common wombats, on the other hand, do like to drink
frequently.
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