Wombats belong to the family of marsupials that live on mainland Australia. They are herbivores that dig holes. Outwardly, they resemble cubs. Their growth is rather low up to 130 cm, and the weight most often does not reach 45 kg. They have strong and short limbs that end in five fingers, four of which have large claws for digging the ground.

Scientific classification:

Family: Wombats

Class: Mammals

Order: Two-crested marsupials

Type: Chordates

Kingdom: Animals

Domain: Eukaryotes

Wombats are most common in southern and eastern Australia. The main condition for their existence is the soil, convenient for digging holes.

Wombat lifestyle

Wombats build branched caves up to 3.5 meters deep and up to 20 meters long. Sometimes caves of different animals can overlap. During the day, wombats rest in their caves, and at night they get out in search of food.

It is noteworthy that if a wombat meets a stranger on the surface of its territory, it will behave aggressively towards him, and may even attack. And if a stranger meets underground in the process of digging caves, then they cohabit amicably. Wombats are considered animals that cannot be tamed and, moreover, trained. But at the same time, people start them on their plots of land as pets.

A distinctive feature of the body structure of wombats is a very hard rear end, which has a kind of solid shield. If the animal crawls into the cave to the wombat, then he tries to drive the animal into a corner and begins to crush it with his shield. It can also butt its enemy like a ram and make sounds similar to lowing.

What do wombats eat?

Food for wombats is quite varied. Most of all they love young shoots of grass. But they also eat plant roots, berries, mushrooms, moss. Their sense of smell helps them to choose their food. And the split upper lip helps them pick exactly which plant they want to eat.

The metabolism of wombats is characterized as very slow. Food can be digested for up to 14 days. They are also famous for their very low water consumption. They are second only to camels. They need only 22 ml of water per day per 1 kg of their body. The feces of these animals are in the form of cubes. Wombats are very cold tolerant.

Wombat - video:


Wombat breeding

Wombats breed throughout the year. The only exceptions are the arid regions of Australia, where wombat breeding is seasonal. The female wombat has two nipples, but she can only give birth to one baby.

The female wombat carries the child for 21 days, and then he is in the mother's bag, which is more like a backpack, as it is located at the back.

The female's pouch is located in opposite side so that when digging the earth does not get to the child. From six to eight months, the baby wombat is in the bag and stays next to the mother for about a year. At 2 years old, the male wombat already reaches puberty, and at 3 years old, the female also reaches puberty.

The life expectancy of Australian bear cubs reaches about 15 years in nature, and approximately 25 years in captivity. A long-liver among wombats is known, who lived for 34 years in captivity.

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Few have heard of the marsupial wombat, which looks like a koala bear. But, unlike the latter, wombats prefer not to live in trees, but simply dig holes with a fanatical desire, in which they hide from predators and people. The passages in the ground are very long, branched, up to 20 meters long and up to 3 meters deep with many entrances. By digging under fences, they harm local farmers, which is why animals are poisoned, and as a result, there is one more entry in the Red Book.

Australian wombat

Description of the wombat

Due to constant digging, they have very strong and short front legs with powerful claws. The fur is very thick, warm, brown in color, less often gray or black. Although they belong to the marsupials, they have two front incisors growing all their lives, like those, which are necessary for obtaining food.

Wombat Characteristics:

  • Length - up to 1.2 meters;
  • Weight - up to 35 kg;
  • Life expectancy in captivity is up to 25 years.

adult wombat

Although the animal is considered stupid, which is why they are practically not tameable, they radically change social relations outside and in burrows. On the surface of the earth, the male will behave aggressively with strangers, protecting his possessions, and underground, if the passages accidentally intersect, the animals will never start a fight.

When frightened, the animal can very much surprise with its dexterity! A wombat can climb a tree, dive into the water, and run at speeds up to 60 km/h!

But it is better not to tempt fate, as they are unpredictable, and in case of danger the beast washes and attacks.

Buying a marsupial

This is a very rare animal, and in order to buy it, you may have to travel half the country, waiting for your turn for more than a month or two. Officially, the export of an animal from Australia is prohibited, and only a large zoo can make a purchase. Of course, do not even try to look for ads on Avito, they don’t sell from the hands of wombats, it will be a hoax.


Wombat cub and his mother
  • Carefully inspect the cub so that there are no injuries on the skin;
  • Eyes and ears are clean;
  • Not painful looking.

It is difficult to say about activity and smell, you will have to believe the breeder. If possible, look at the parents of the wombat, the conditions of detention, and how pleasant the breeder himself is in communication.

The price of an animal is also not clearly defined, but varies within 50,000 rubles.

Life in an apartment

It has already been mentioned above that wombats are practically untamed. Firstly, they are very stupid, it is useless to try to accustom them to a nickname, they will not respond anyway. There is not even a question about elementary training and commands. Secondly, albeit unintentionally, they will spoil the furniture and the floor with their clawed paws. They show aggression only when necessary, in a normal situation they are kind and calm, but they can still injure a person, not on purpose. Therefore, they should not be taken by families with children and the elderly.


Happy wombat

Wombats are indifferent to "bodily tenderness" on the part of a person. It’s not that they don’t like being petted, but they don’t show much enthusiasm, like cats. Care is also not required, the only thing is to let them eat and dig the ground. Ideal Conditions- cottage, garden plot, in general, not a home apartment.

Nutrition

The wombat feeds on roots, young shoots, berries, moss and mushrooms. In a word, herbivore. Their whole life comes down to finding food, protecting the territory, and digging canals.


Looking for food

Remarkably, wombats are very energy efficient, and can only eat a couple of times a month. They also require very little water. The arid climate of Australia dictates its own rules of survival.

And remember - we are responsible for those we have tamed!

common wombat a small and very shy animal, covered with thick hair. A wombat looks like a bear cub and a badger at the same time, but it belongs to the order of marsupials. Row marsupials
Dimensions
Length: 70-115 cm.
Tail length: 2.5 cm.
Weight: 22-39 kg.
Reproduction.
Puberty: from the first year of life.
Mating season: autumn.
Pregnancy: 20-22 days. The female carries the baby for 6 months.
Number of cubs: 1.
Lifestyle.
Habits: loner.
Food: Mostly grass, but also roots, tree bark, and mushrooms.
Sounds: sharp growl.
Lifespan: up to 3 years.
related species. In the south lives the broad-browed, or long-haired, wombat, in the north, the Creft wombat, which is threatened with extinction. Short and strong paws with long claws are an excellent tool for digging holes. Thanks to this, the wombat can lead interesting life underground. People often consider it a pest. Wombats cause significant damage to farmers in their fields and pastures.
Food. The wombat feeds mainly on grass. At night, he walks around his favorite places located on open areas. During the night, a wombat can walk up to three kilometers.
The limbs of these animals are strong, armed with powerful spade-shaped claws adapted for digging. With its front paws, the wombat pulls plants out of the ground, even eating their roots. The wombat eats the bark and leaves of trees and bushes. Each wombat has its own territory, which it guards against competitors from other wombats. Feature wombats are their teeth, similar to those of rodents. They do not have fangs, and the tooth enamel covers only the front side of the incisors, so upper bound becomes very sharp. Wombats have four incisors (two each in the upper and lower jaws), similar to those of rodents. They are constantly growing. The wombat bites off food by rapidly moving its lower jaw.

Wombat and man. The first Europeans to see a wombat were sailors from a ship that was wrecked at the end of the 18th century in Bass Strait, located between Australia and Tasmania. When they reached the shore and saw the wombats, people at first mistook them for cubs. Then these animals were called badgers. The Australian settlers soon realized that wombats were pests. Residents of Australia believe that wombats spoil pasture surfaces with burrows. Rabbits began to hide in the burrows of wombats. During the destruction of rabbits, wombats also died. For each wombat killed, a huge reward was paid. IN late XIX century on the Bass Strait Islands, almost all wombats were destroyed.
Way of life. The homeland of the wombat is hilly areas in the deserts and along the edges. It lives in burrows that it digs for itself. In a hole, the wombat sleeps and hides when threatened. One wombat occupies ten or more holes at the same time. Each of them has a separate entrance. The wombat digs holes with strong front paws, on which it has long sharp claws. He throws the excavated earth aside.

As the hole gets deeper, the wombat starts digging with all four paws. When a root appears in its path, the wombat immediately gnaws through it. The wombat is nocturnal, so it sleeps in a hole for most of the day. Often, not far from the entrance to the hole of this animal, you can see a shallow hole, this is the place where it “takes” morning sunbaths. Although some animals dig holes not far from each other, and sometimes even their structures are connected by common corridors. Two individuals rarely use one hole If a wombat is pursued by a predator, he will try to get to his hole at any cost.Only in the hole does the wombat feel completely safe.
Reproduction. The wombat creates pairs only for the duration of mating. This period begins in April and lasts until June. At this time in Australia, the middle and end of autumn. After a pregnancy that lasts only a few weeks, the female in a safe and comfortable burrow (a corridor that ends with a nest chamber prepared in advance and lined with soft plants) gives birth to one cub. At the time of his birth, he is still in the embryonic stage of development, but he already has well-developed forelimbs. With their help, the child can climb into the mother's bag. For six months, he sits in his mother's pouch, firmly attached to one of the three nipples, through which he generously receives nourishing milk. Due to the fact that the opening of the bag is at the back, the journey of wombat cubs into the bag is shorter than the path that small kangaroos overcome. This is also convenient because it excludes the possibility of clay getting into the bag while digging a hole and getting food. Even when the child grows so large that he can leave the bag, for another eleven months he remains with his mother and, in case of danger, hides in her bag. After the baby wombat learns to chew on its own, the mother nibbles fresh grass for him and places it on the ground in front of his muzzle.

Did you know… Fishermen who lived on the Bass Strait Islands captured wombats, raised them, and kept them at home as pet dogs. Wombats are easy to tame.
Marsupials live in Australia, on nearby islands and in America. There are about a hundred species of marsupials in Australia.
Fossils of marsupial ancestors date back 10,000 years. The then marsupials were the size of a hippopotamus.
Wombat can dig a hole in the ground as quickly as a grown man does with a shovel.
The Latin name comes from the word "bag". But there are several types of marsupials in which there is no leather bag, their cubs cling tightly to the milk nipples or to the mother's hair.
A newborn wombat weighs only 2g and is only 22mm tall.

Nora wombat. The burrow can be 30 m long and 2 m deep. The entrance to the burrow is oval and wide so that the wombat can crawl into it. He own body can block the entrance, not letting uninvited guests through.
Residential area: lined with plant material and serves as a bedroom and "maternity room".
Place for sunbathing: not far from the entrance to the hole, the wombat digs a shallow hole for itself, in which it basks in the sun early in the morning.
Pouch: The female wombat has a pouch that opens back to keep out clay when she digs.
Places of residence.common wombat lives in Australia. Distributed from Queensland and New South Wales along the Great sandy desert and the Victoria Desert all the way to Southwest Australia and Tasmania.
Preservation. Now the wombat is not threatened with extinction. Despite the ban, it is hunted in the state of Victoria.

Video about wombat


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The wombat population has existed on Earth for millions of years, although some species of these animals have disappeared without a trace since ancient times.

scientific classification

Wombats are unique Australian animals, which, according to the classification, belong to two-bladed marsupials. vertebrate mammals chordate type. Among them, bare-nosed and wool-nosed animals are distinguished, which in turn are divided into several genera:

  • shorthaired
  • longhaired
  • Queensland

Appearance and resemblance to other animals

Outwardly, these cute creatures resemble marsupial bears - koalas, and have much in common with them in the structure of the skeleton, dentition and reproductive system. But from the point of view of morphology, these are representatives of two different families and genera, which means that resemblance them deceptively. More than 30 million years ago, their evolutionary branches diverged forever, forming two completely independent families. In addition, in terms of body structure and behavioral skills, wombats are similar to forest predators – brown bears although they are themselves herbivores.

The special structure of the paws and claws helps these mammals provide themselves and their offspring with housing. Small but powerful paws are adapted for digging holes in which wombats live. The small strong body of the animal, weighing up to 40 kg, reaches a length of 100-120 cm in adults. The head looks massive and disproportionately large, the tail is shortened. The structure of the jaw of the wombat is similar to the jaw of rodents; there are no angular teeth, the front incisors are on top and bottom. In general, this is, as it were, a collective image of several representatives of a completely different types animals.

Habitat and lifestyle

The habitat of these marsupials is the south and east of the Australian mainland. The soils here are suitable for digging underground passages, tunnels and burrows, in which wombats spend most of their lives. Underground galleries created by animals reach tens of meters in length, they are wide and convenient for movement. Sometimes underground passages intersect with each other, forming common areas that are used together. Wombats spend most of the day in their mink houses, leaving the surface of the earth only at dusk. At night, the animals are quite active and, without fear of attacks by predators, are looking for food.

Enemies and ways to protect against them

The main enemies of wombats are dingoes, wild dogs of Australia. Wombats defend themselves from them by turning their backs to the enemy. A powerful shield, thick bones and hard skin of the rear part of the body of the animal reliably block the entrance of predators to the underground dwelling of the wombat. With its own weight, the animal can crush the offender or break his bones. A powerful head prevents an attack from the front. Like a ram, the wombat butts its head, pushes the opponent to the wall and, pressing it, strangles it. Unfortunately, cases of death of wombats under the wheels of cars are not uncommon.

Wombats jealously protect their territories from the encroachments of strangers. They mark holdings with a special secret, alerting outsiders to occupied lots, and defending them when necessary. Wombats are excellent swimmers and fast runners, in case of danger they deftly climb tree trunks. Their sense of smell and hearing are much better developed than their eyesight. Life expectancy is about 20 years.

Nutrition

The basis of the diet of wombats are young shoots and roots of plants, grass, berries, mushrooms and mosses. With the help of a divided upper lip and long front incisors, animals choose treats for themselves, tasting them for taste and juiciness. The food eaten is digested in the stomach for about two weeks. Wombats consume little liquid, so the arid hot climate of Australia is quite suitable for them.

reproduction

Puberty occurs in wombats at 2 years, and the reproductive period almost does not depend on the season. Only in dry areas mating season in animals takes on a seasonal form. A newly born cub makes its first journey through the mother's body, trying to get into the bag. Here he finds two nipples with milk and peacefully spends the next six months. After the baby leaves the mother's bag, he stays near her for about a year, receiving the necessary protection and care.

Wombats are well tamed by humans. Their quick wit, good nature and docile nature make these animals the pets of many Australian families. Wombats can often be found in the National Parks around Melbourne or in the reserves of the eastern part of the mainland.

Wombat - herbivorous representative of the fauna Australian mainland, belonging to the family of Diuretic marsupials.

Outwardly, the animal resembles a small bear cub, weighs between 20-40 kg with a total body length of about 1 meter.

Wombat: description of the animal

The body of a wombat is compact, covered with hard gray-brown hair. Short tail. The head is large, slightly flattened. The eyes are small. According to the structure of the jaws and teeth, of which there are 12 (which is the smallest indicator among marsupials), there is a resemblance to rodents. Well developed short, strong limbs. Each of them has 5 fingers, 4 of which are crowned with large claws designed for burrowing.

Methods of protection from the enemy

The rear part of the wombat's torso, consisting of thick skin, bones and cartilage, is extremely hard. Thanks to this feature, the marsupial can defend itself from enemies: turning its back to them, it blocks the entrance to its home. If the enemy managed to get inside, the burrower is able to crush the latter against the walls of the shelter. Another way to repel an attack is headbutts, which the wombat inflicts like a ram or a goat. The sounds similar to lowing made by the animal are aimed at intimidating and intimidating the enemy.

Wombat is an animal that, if unable to cope with the enemy, can run away from him, developing a speed of about 40 km / h (at short distances). Also, the marsupial is able to climb trees or go swimming.

Where do wombats live?

The habitat of wombats can be called the southern and eastern parts of Australia, the states of South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, South Wales, Queensland. The animal spends most of its life underground, therefore it chooses an area with soil that is good for digging holes. The depth of such caves reaches 3 meters, the length of complex tunnel systems is about 20 meters.

Knowing where wombats live, it would be useful to mention that such animals prefer a solitary lifestyle, but they try to have holes close to each other. For this reason, moves can sometimes overlap.

animal lifestyle

The Australian inhabitant is predominantly nocturnal; rests in a burrow during the daytime. At sunset, it goes out in search of food. In winter, with a lack of heat, it can leave the dwelling during the day, in order to warm up. By the way, the wombat is hard to tolerate low temperatures.

For marking the territory (on stones, trunks fallen trees) the marsupial animal uses its own feces, which, due to the specific structure of the anus, have a cubic shape. Sticky mucus and a specific sweetish smell of feces scare away competitors from an already occupied territory. By the way, in Australia, wombat feces are the raw material for paper production.

wombat progenitors

Wombat is an animal that is the oldest inhabitant of the planet, which appeared on it more than 18 million years ago. A close relative of the Australian animal is considered to be diprotodon - a marsupial, the largest representatives of which reached about 3 meters in length and 2 meters at the withers. Of modern animals, wombats are most similar to koalas: in teeth, spermatozoa.

During the settlement of Australia (about 40-60 thousand years ago), the number of wombats on the continent dropped sharply due to hunting for them, destruction of habitats, and competition with new species of animals introduced to the continent. Today, the animals are threatened by cars, under the wheels of which marsupials carelessly jumping onto the road perish. However, the wombat is an animal that is not afraid of humans. Sometimes, at bad mood or the manifestation of signs of aggression in his direction, it can even show character: attack, scratch. The enemy from the animal world for the wombat is the dingo dog.

Diet

The main food of wombats are young grass shoots, which the animal, which has an excellent sense of smell, seeks out and cuts to the very root. sharp teeth. The marsupial does not disdain berries, mushrooms, moss. marsupial The Australian continent is characterized by a slow metabolism: food is digested for about 2 weeks.

In terms of water consumption, the marsupial wombat is the most economical among mammals: the fluid consumption per 1 kg of its weight is 22 ml. This feature helps such a representative of the fauna to survive in conditions of drought and crop failures.

Reproduction features

Wombat males reach puberty at 2 years, females - at 3. Reproduction of animals occurs all year round; in dry regions - seasonally. The term for bearing a cub is 21 days.

Having been born, the baby is in the mother's bag, which is located on the back (like a backpack) for another 6-8 months. Otherwise, when digging the earth, lumps of dirt would fall inside the bag.

Lifespan

The average lifespan of a wombat is 15 years. In captivity, this period is significantly increased. Thus, there was a case where Australian wombat lived to the age of 34 at the zoo. The ability to dig holes and destroy green spaces sometimes makes the wombat unsuitable for home keeping. In zoo marsupial mammal may even produce offspring.

The wombat is an animal that wild nature most often found in places most visited by tourists. The last in the desire to admire such rare individuals, they are often fed.

The inhabitant of the Australian continent has a good-natured character and easily makes contact with a person. There is a version that the wombat is the prototype of Sonya, a participant in the Crazy Tea Party from Lewis Carroll's fairy tale Alice in Wonderland. A tame animal that loved to sleep on the table lived with Dante Rossetti, an acquaintance of the English writer.

To date, the export of the wombat from the territory of Australia is prohibited, the Australian animal is offered only to large zoos for $500-1000.