Walkabout Wombat

It is unusual to see a Wombat in the wild in Australia.

They are very shy animals.

This photo was taken at the Australia Zoo also known as the Steve Irwin Zoo.

A wombat can grow up to 1.2m in length and weigh up to 35kg.

They love digging burrows with their specially designed thick paws.

A pouch which faces backwards protects their young from flying dirt while the mother digs a burrow.

They live in all sorts of areas such as coastal forests, alpine woodlands and grasslands.
They mainly eat coarse native grasses, sedges, rushes, succulent plant roots and tubers and pasture grasses.

Wombats are mostly nocturnal, usually coming out at night to graze when the temperature is lower. However in cold periods they may be seen out during the day either grazing or basking in the sun.

The wombat breeds while food is plentiful throughout the year.

Gestation lasts for one month, then a jelly-bean sized Joey is born which attaches to a teat in its mother’s pouch.

The Joey will leave the pouch at 10 months but will stay with the mother for another eight to ten months.

From the time the juvenile leaves the pouch it begins to substitute increasing amounts of plant material instead of milk.

At between 12-15 months of age it stops suckling altogether.

They commence breeding at two years and live for about 15 years in the wild or up to 20 years in captivity.