1. Wombats poop cubes
A wombat’s poop is shaped like a cube. They arrange their cubed poo to mark their territory and attract mates. The cubed shape is perfect as it is stackable and less likely to roll away. How clever!
An adult wombat produces between 80 to 100 pieces of poop in one night, with four to eight pieces per bowel movement.
2. Wombats use their butts to defend themselves
A wombat’s backside is their main form of defence against predators. When a predator comes near, they dive down into the entrance of their tunnel and block the entrance off with their butt.
Their toughened rear end is mainly cartilage so it is quite resistant to scratches and bites. They can do some crushing damage with their butts and use their two back legs to kick their predator away.
3. A wombat’s closest relative is the koala
A wombats closest living relative is the koala. They may not look the same, but they are both marsupials, with backward facing pouches. This prevents dirt getting inside their pouch and over their young while mum digs.
They use their powerful claws and rodent like teeth to dig extensive burrows. They use their burrows to escape the heat and hide from predators. Their burrows can be up to 30 metres long and several metres deep with multiple entrances.
4. Wombats are heavy
They may be short-legged, but wombats aren’t light. These muscular animals are about 1 metre in length and weigh between 20-35kg. The heaviest wombat recorded is Patrick the bare nosed wombat from Ballarat Wildlife Park. He weighed 38kg. That’s about four koalas!
Wombats typically live up to 15 years in the wild, but can live up to 30 years in captivity. The longest living wombat was 32 years old.
5. Wombats can move fast
Whilst wombats typically waddle around slowly, they can run at speeds of 40km per hour when they feel threatened. They can maintain this fast speed for 150 metres to get away.
Wombats are nocturnal and spend their nights foraging for food and digging new tunnels. On cold days they sometimes come out to warm up in the sun. Though wombats don’t seek out water, they are known to swim occasionally. Normally to cross a creek or small stream.
6. Wombats have many names
There are three different types of wombat species including the Common wombat (also known as the Bare-nosed wombat), Southern hairy-nosed wombat and Northern hairy-nosed wombat.
A group of wombats is called a wisdom, mob or colony.
Male wombats are called Jacks. Females are Jills. Baby wombats are called Joeys.
7. A wombat’s teeth never stop growing
A wombats teeth are continuously growing. This makes sure they don’t grind away their teeth when munching away on tough vegetation. Wombats are herbivores, feeding mainly on grasses, scrub, herbs, bark and roots. They get most of their water from the food they eat and can live years without drinking water.
Wombats have a very slow metabolism, taking around eight to fourteen days to completely digest a meal. This aids their survival in dry conditions.