Short-haired wombat. A wombat is a small version of a bear. Wombat: description of the animal

Classification

View: Wombat Vombatidae

Squad: Two-incisor marsupials

Highest classification: Vombatiformes

Domain: Eukaryotes

Kingdom: Animals

Type: Chordata

Class: Mammals

The wombat is a herbivorous representative of the Australian fauna that is active at night.

This is a marsupial animal that has practically no natural enemies.

Externally, the animal resembles a small bear cub

The wombat, like , and , digs holes, and its food source is vegetation.

He looks quite cute and seems harmless, but as soon as he senses danger, he immediately becomes aggressive.

Nature has endowed this animal with acute hearing and poor eyesight. The cold climate is destructive for it and prolonged stay in such conditions can provoke serious illnesses.

Habitat

Australia and Tasmania are the main places where the wombat lives. It lives in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.

Its habitat is forests, fields and mountains. The wombat needs land in which it constantly digs holes - it lives there and marks its territory.

The wombat will always protect its inhabited spaces, scaring off the “uninvited guest” with a menacing moo. Often this is enough for him to leave, but if necessary, the wombat will enter into battle

Previously, all of Australia was inhabited by wombats, but due to the active destruction of rodents, their population has decreased significantly.

And today these marsupials can only be found in the southern part of the continent.

Characteristic

Because of its short legs, the wombat looks like a small, stocky bear. But in fact, he is a “relative” of the kangaroo.

Its body looks massive and thick, and thanks to its large head, the first Australian settlers called the wombat a badger.

Today, three species of these marsupial mammals are known:

• common Vombatus ursinus;
• broad-browed;
• Woolly-nosed Krefta, or northern.

Representatives of the last two species have another name - long-haired.

Albino wombats also exist, but they are extremely rare.

Important! Human agricultural activities have caused irreparable damage to the wombat population.

Appearance

The body length of an adult animal ranges from 70-130 cm. Its weight can be 20-45 kg. The body looks compact, the legs are short, but very strong.

There are five toes on each foot, four of which have sharp claws - with their help both the long-haired and the common wombat dig their tunnels.

There are two small eyes on the large head. The tail is thin and not too long.

Interesting! Among extinct species, for example, Phascolonus gigas, there were individuals whose weight could reach 200 kg!

In terms of the structure of its jaws, the wombat is similar to rodents. It has four front cutting teeth - two each on top and bottom, and simple chewing teeth, with no corner teeth.

This mammal has a total of 12 teeth - the smallest among marsupials.

The common wombat has a completely bare nose, short and rounded ears, and gray-brown fur that is very short and hard to the touch.

Representatives of the other two species - northern and broad-fronted - have hairy noses, much larger ears and soft fur.

The largest among the others is the wombat, which belongs to the broad-fronted species, which can be seen in the next photo. Its characteristic features are pointed ears and a flat forehead.

Broad-faced wombat wearing a gray “fur coat”

Key Features

1. The wombat lives mainly underground in a hole that it dug itself. With the help of its long sharp claws, this animal is capable of building both small caves and real tunnel systems. The length of the latter can reach 20 m, and the depth - 3.5 m. At the intersection of underground systems, separate caves are formed, in which different “families” of these stunning animals can live at different times.
2. These mammals rest in their shelters during daylight hours. At night they are active and come out of their burrows to find food. But in winter, the northern wombat can also be found during the day, which is clearly demonstrated in the next photo.

In cold weather, the northern wombat can come out of its burrow to bask in the sun's rays

1. Adults have virtually no natural enemies. They can be hunted by wild dingoes and Tasmanian devils, whose habitat is also Australia. But they significantly undermine the number of wombats and prevent them from raising their offspring.
2. This animal repels the attacks of an attacker in a very strange way - it exposes the back of its back from the hole. This is due to the fact that they have a kind of shield on their pelvic bones. If the enemy penetrates the hole, the wombat peacefully moves aside, luring him deeper, and then attacks and strangles him with his rear shield.
3. During a fight, both long-haired and common wombats butt heads, delivering powerful head blows. But before they engage in combat, they warn the enemy by shaking their heads from side to side and mooing threateningly.
4. The constant presence of a source of water in places where the wombat lives is not a prerequisite for existence. He lives quite calmly for a long time without liquid, and if he drinks, it is very little.

Interesting! The wombat ranks second in terms of water conservation after the camel. For one kilogram of body weight per day, only 22 ml of liquid is enough for him!

1. The area of ​​the territory where this representative of the fauna lives will depend on external conditions and can be about 5-25 hectares. They mark their “possessions” not only with dug holes, but also with excrement.
2. Their anus has a special structure, due to which the feces are shaped like cubes.

The food source for wombats is vegetation. They consume grass shoots, roots of some plants, and can feed on moss, as well as berries and mushrooms.

And they identify edible vegetation using the upper lip, divided into two parts.

Large front teeth protrude from under it, with which animals easily cut off young shoots to the very root.

Thanks to a well-developed sense of smell, these representatives of the fauna have excellent orientation even at night.

Wombats find food without much difficulty, even despite poor eyesight

Interesting! Wombats have a slow but very efficient metabolism. After saturation, the animal’s body needs about 2 weeks to digest the incoming food!

Reproduction

The breeding season begins in May and lasts until August. No more than three weeks are allowed to bear the baby.

The female has two nipples, but during one pregnancy she is able to give birth to only one “heir”, who, after birth, remains under her care for a fairly long period of time.

This animal has a pouch on its abdomen that is turned backwards.

This arrangement helps the wombats dig their trenches unhindered even while the baby is in this pouch. The male reaches sexual maturity in the second year of his life, the female only in the third.

The cub spends about 9 months in its mother's pouch.

The wombat reproduces almost throughout the entire territory where it lives, with the exception of particularly dry zones.

In such regions, this animal is able to produce offspring only at certain times of the year.

In the wild, both the common and northern wombat live on average about 15 years. In captivity, their life expectancy can reach a quarter of a century.

On a note! There is information about a long-lived wombat who died after reaching 34 years of age. But there is also a living marsupial mammal nicknamed Patrick, which is located in Ballarta Park - its age today is 29 years old!

Australia is famous for its huge number of zoological parks and tourist centers, where wombats live in captivity and reproduce quite actively.

These animals are incredibly popular, despite the fact that they are very difficult to tame.

But the park workers were able to find a common language with these cute creatures, and after much persuasion, they still come out of their hiding places for everyone to see and even allow themselves to be stroked, as can be seen in the next photo.

The baby wombat behaves quite friendly and calm

But you should always remember about their far from meek disposition, which can manifest itself at any moment.

As soon as an animal senses danger, it can immediately attack a person and scratch him with its long, strong claws.

If the wombat is not provoked, it will not show signs of aggression. But at the same time, his behavior can also be affected by a bad mood.

Being strong and sturdy, possessing remarkable weight, powerful jaws and sharp teeth, an angry wombat will leave deep wounds if a person does not disappear from his field of vision in time.

In addition, when angry, these representatives of the fauna are capable of completely destroying the vegetation that will be located in the area.

He will zealously dig up the entire area until not a single sprout remains on it.

These characteristics make the wombat not the best pet. He is unpredictable, excessively timid and therefore poses a serious danger to humans.

And even if the threat is not real, a frightened animal can attack an imaginary enemy.

In addition, they cannot be called smart and sometimes their actions are at odds with a seemingly good mood.

In order for such an exotic animal as a wombat to qualify as a pet, a place must first be arranged for it.

And, as some owners of these marsupials say, over time they get used to the situation, especially if it is possible to dig trenches without hindrance.

A house or apartment is not suitable for keeping them, since there is not enough space for a wombat and he will have nowhere to hide.

In this regard, floor coverings and walls will certainly be seriously damaged or become completely unusable.

A suitable place for a wombat is a garden plot with a large territory.

At the same time, it is important to remember about the climatic zone of residence, since these animals tolerate cold very poorly - under such conditions they will often get sick.

In regions characterized by a variable climate, special places are created for these animals where the pet can wait out the cold months or several days of inclement weather

The baby next to a calm mother will feel quite comfortable and develop well.

Animal Wombat: Cute marsupial mammal

The wombat is a herbivorous representative of the Australian fauna that is active at night. This is a marsupial animal that has practically no natural enemies.

The wombat is a herbivorous representative of the fauna of the Australian mainland, belonging to the family of two-incisor marsupials.

Externally, 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 wombat's body is compact and covered with coarse gray-brown fur. Short tail. The head is large, slightly flattened. The eyes are small. The structure of the jaws and teeth, of which there are 12 (which is the smallest among marsupials), is similar to rodents. Short, strong limbs are well developed. Each of them has 5 fingers, 4 of which are topped with large claws designed for digging holes.

Methods of protection from the enemy

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

A wombat is an animal that, if unable to cope with an enemy, can run away from it, developing a speed of about 40 km/h (for short distances). The marsupial is also capable of climbing trees or 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, and Queensland. The animal spends most of its life underground, so it chooses an area with soil that is well suited 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 worth mentioning that such animals prefer a solitary lifestyle, but try to place burrows close to each other. For this reason, moves can sometimes intersect.

Animal lifestyle

The Australian inhabitant is predominantly nocturnal; during the daytime it rests in a hole. When the sun sets, it goes out in search of food. In winter, if there is a lack of heat, it can leave the home during the day in order to warm up. By the way, the wombat does not tolerate low temperatures.

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

Wombat ancestors

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

During the settlement of Australia (about 40-60 thousand years ago), the number of wombats on the continent sharply decreased due to hunting, destruction of habitats, and competition with new species of animals introduced to the continent. Today, the threat to animals is posed by cars, under whose wheels marsupials carelessly jumping onto the road die. However, the wombat is an animal that is not afraid of humans. Sometimes, if he is in a bad mood or shows signs of aggression towards him, he can even show his character: attack, scratch. The wombat's enemy from the animal world is the dingo.

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 with sharp teeth. The marsupial does not disdain berries, mushrooms, and moss. The marsupial inhabitant of the Australian continent has a slow metabolism: food is digested in about 2 weeks.

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

Features of reproduction

Male wombats reach sexual maturity at 2 years, females at 3. Reproduction of animals occurs all year round; in dry regions - seasonally. The gestation period for the cub is 21 days.

After being born, the baby remains in the mother’s pouch, which is located on the back (like a backpack), for another 6-8 months. Otherwise, when digging the ground, lumps of dirt would get inside the bag.

Lifespan

The average lifespan of a wombat is 15 years. In captivity this period increases significantly. Thus, a case was recorded when an Australian wombat in a zoo lived to be 34 years old. The ability to dig holes and destroy green spaces sometimes makes the wombat unsuitable for home keeping. In a zoo, a marsupial can even give birth to offspring.

The wombat is an animal that is most often found in the wild in areas most visited by tourists. The latter, in their desire to admire such rare individuals, often feed them.

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

Today, the export of wombats from Australia is prohibited; the Australian animal is offered only to large zoos for $500-1000.

Wombats (lat. Vombatidae) are a family of two-incisor marsupials that live in Australia. Wombats are burrowing herbivores that resemble small bears in appearance.
Wombats reach a length of 70 to 120 cm and a weight of 20 to 40 kg. Their body is compactly built, their limbs are short and strong. Each of them has five fingers, of which the outer four are crowned with large claws adapted for digging the ground. The tail is short, the large head gives the impression of being slightly flattened, and the eyes are small.

Interestingly, the wombat's jaws and teeth show similarities to rodents. In the upper and lower rows, wombats have a pair of front cutting teeth. The chewing teeth are constructed very simply; there are no angular teeth. Wombats have the fewest teeth among marsupials.

Wombats are the largest living mammals that dig and spend most of their lives underground. With their sharp claws, they dig out small residential caves in the ground, which sometimes form complex tunnel systems.

An adult wombat has almost no natural enemies. One of the few is the human-introduced dingo. The back of a wombat's body is extremely hard due to thick skin, cartilage and bones. In case of danger, they can turn their backs, block their hole and repel most of the attackers, or crush their limbs against the walls of their living cave. In the back of the back, on the pelvic bones, the wombat has something like a shield that protects it when attacked from behind. He also delivers strong head blows - butting like a ram or a goat. If a dog crawls into his hole, he waits for it without leaving his spot, and then tries to drive it into a corner, against the wall of the hole, and strangle it there. Much more often, people, especially cars, are to blame for the death of a wombat. In areas where human impact is low, wombat numbers are determined by the availability of nutritious plants.

At short distances, wombats can reach speeds of up to 42 km/h, and can also escape from danger by swimming or climbing trees.

Wombats eat young shoots of grass. Sometimes roots, mosses and mushrooms are also eaten. Wombats have a very slow and efficient metabolism. It takes them 14 days to digest food. Wombats are the most efficient water consumers of all the mammals evolution has produced. They only need 22 ml of water per kg of body weight per day. Even such kangaroos, adapted to Australian conditions, consume four times more water.

There are five known extinct genera of wombats. Wombats appeared about 18 million years ago during the Miocene. The closest relatives of wombats are representatives of the family of marsupial bears (koalas). Wombats have numerous similarities with them in the structure of their teeth, skull and sperm. However, there are also a number of morphological differences indicating that the evolutionary lineages of koalas and wombats diverged approximately 36 million years ago. An even closer relative of wombats was Diprotodon, a giant rhino-sized marsupial that went extinct only about 40,000 years ago.

After the settlement of Australia by Europeans, the range of wombats decreased significantly. The reasons for this were the destruction of their habitats, competition with introduced species and hunting of wombats. Today, only 118 specimens of the Queensland wombat remain, living in a small nature reserve in Queensland. The other two species are more common and are not yet endangered (text - Wikipedia).

Common wombat (short-haired wombat), refers to marsupials living in Australia. There are three subspecies: Vombatus ursinus hirsutus (lives in Australia), Vombatus ursinus tasmaniensis (lives in Tasmania) and Vombatus ursinus ursinus (lives on Oblomkov Island and Bass Strait Island).

Habitat: Australia, Tasmania.
Lifespan: 5 years.

Wombats are herbivores that feed on grains, roots and grasses at night when it is cool. Wombats spend all day in burrows. They often dig tunnels under fences in rural areas, which is why farmers try to get rid of them. Wombats dig long (up to 20 m) and deep (up to 2 m) burrows, with branched tunnels and several entrances. Basically, wombats lead a solitary lifestyle, but sometimes several marsupials live in one burrow.

In nature, the common wombat can be found in fields, forests and coastal bushes. Currently, the wombat population is declining because farmers are poisoning them and the animals are being run over by cars.

Wombats actively protect their territory from strangers. When a wombat is pursued by a predator (Tasmanian devils, eagles), it hides in a hole, leaving its tail on the surface. The skin on the tail is quite tough and can withstand a powerful bite.

An adult wombat reaches a length of up to 1.2 m and weighs up to 34 kg. Wombats living on the mainland grow to larger sizes than those living on the islands.

Marsupials have powerful short legs with long claws adapted for digging holes. Wombats are covered with thick fur, colored brown, gray or black. Unlike other marsupials, wombats have only one pair of front teeth. These teeth are constantly growing.

Wombats reach sexual maturity at the age of two years. The breeding season occurs throughout the year and peaks in winter. Despite the fact that the wombat has two teats, the female only gives birth to one baby every two years. Young wombats remain in the pouch for six months, are weaned at 15 months, and remain with their mother until approximately 18 months.

Few people have heard about the wombat, a marsupial animal that looks like a koala bear. But, unlike the latter, wombats do not prefer to live in trees, but simply, with fanatical desire, dig holes 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 their 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 grow two front incisors throughout their lives, like those of a cat, which are necessary for obtaining food.

Characteristics of a wombat:

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

Although the animal is considered stupid, which is why they are practically untamed, their social relationships change radically outside and in their burrows. On the surface of the earth, the male will behave aggressively with strangers, defending his possessions, and underground, if the passages accidentally intersect, but the animals will never start a fight.

When frightened, an animal can even surprise you with its agility! A wombat can climb a tree, dive into water, and run at speeds of up to 60 km/h!

But it’s better not to tempt fate, as they are unpredictable, and if there is danger, the beast will attack.

Buying a marsupial

This is a very rare animal, and to buy it, you may have to travel halfway across the country, waiting for your turn for a month or two. Officially, the export of animals from Australia is prohibited, and only a large zoo can purchase them. Of course, don’t even try to look for ads on Avito, they don’t sell wombats by hand, it would be a scam.

• Carefully examine the cub to ensure there are no injuries to the skin;
• Eyes and ears are clean;
• Not painful looking.

It’s hard to say about activity and smell; you’ll have to trust the breeder. If possible, look at the wombat’s parents, the living conditions, and how pleasant the breeder is to communicate with.

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

Apartment life

It was already mentioned above that wombats are practically untamable. 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 any talk about basic training and commands. Secondly, although accidentally, they will damage furniture and floors with their clawed paws. They show aggression only when necessary; in normal situations they are kind and calm, but they can still injure a person, not on purpose. Therefore, families with children and elderly people should not have them.

Wombats are indifferent to “bodily affection” from humans. It’s not that they don’t like to be petted, but they don’t show much enthusiasm like cats. They also do not require any care, the only thing is to let them eat and dig in the ground. Ideal conditions are a dacha, a garden plot, generally 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 searching for food, defending territory, and digging canals.

It is noteworthy that wombats use energy very sparingly 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!