A chunky, low-slung burrower perfectly designed for life in hot, dry Australian grasslands. It’s the smallest of the three wombat species, but still a solid little bulldozer, with a broad head, powerful shoulders and short, sturdy legs tipped with strong claws for digging. Its fur is usually grey-brown to sandy, blending nicely with the dust and dry grasses of inland South Australia. Like all wombats, it has a backward-opening pouch, so when a mother digs, she doesn’t shower her joey in dirt. The skull is low and broad, and the front teeth and grinding molars grow continuously, kept in check by a lifetime of chewing tough, gritty grasses.
What really makes this wombat special is its underground lifestyle. In the semi-arid plains and shrublands where summers are scorching and rain is scarce, the southern hairy-nosed wombat survives by becoming an engineer. Instead of simple burrows, it builds big, complex warrens: networks of tunnels and chambers that can stretch for dozens of metres and have many entrances. Several wombats may share a warren, and generations will reuse and expand it over time, turning the soil into a kind of underground apartment block. These warrens act like natural air-conditioning. Even when the surface is baking, the temperature inside stays much cooler and more stable, so wombats spend the day sleeping in the dark and only emerge at dusk, night and early morning to feed.
Their whole body is tuned to saving water and energy: they have a very low metabolic rate, move slowly and calmly, and their digestion is so efficient that food can take more than a week to pass through. The result is their famous cube-shaped droppings, extremely dry and firm. The odd shape seems to help the pellets stay put on rocks and logs, turning them into tidy little scent signposts around the warren.
Distribution
Australia
Official estimate
Australia
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Terrestrial / Aquatic
Altricial / Precocial
Polygamous / Monogamous
Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic
Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal
Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Colony
Diet: Carnivore / Herbivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore
Migratory: Yes / No
Domesticated: Yes / No
Dangerous: Yes / No
