Wombats are vegetarian animals that live only in Australia and Tasmania. They are marsupials, which means that they carry their babies in a pouch after they are born. Wombats are excellent diggers and create tunnels and burrows to live in. Their population ranges from 100,000 to 300,000, they can weigh from 44-77 lbs (19.9581-34.9266 kg) and are found in forests, woodlands and grasslands. Their digestive systems are so slow it can take them up to two weeks to digest their food. Although wombats look like easy targets, they have tough backsides that they can use to block predators from eating them. Some wombats can go weeks, or even months, without ever drinking any water. Young wombats live in their mother’s pouches for about six months. Three species of wombats live in Australia and Tasmania. They are the common wombat, the Northern hairy-nosed wombat, and the Southern hairy-nosed wombat. Believed to have originated around 25 million years ago, fossil evidence suggests that early wombats were similar in size to modern-day Tasmanian devils, and over time they evolved into the larger, slower-moving wombats we see today. Throughout history, wombats have been hunted for their fur and meat, and as a result, some species have become endangered. These animals have short, powerful legs that have big, heavy claws on them that wombats can use for digging. They are marsupials, so the females have pouches in which they raise their babies, but their pouches face backward, towards their tails, so the babies don’t get pelted with dirt as their mothers dig tunnels and holes.

Wombats are vegetarians and eat most of the different plants that grow in their territories. This includes spear grass, snow tussocks, herbs, grassroots, trees, shrubs, fungi such as mushrooms, bark, bushes, moss, march plants, and leaves. They prefer tender young plants but they’ll eat almost anything when they find it, including vegetables grown by humans. If there’s a drought, wombats will dig down amongst the grasses to reach the grassroots to eat. Wombats are hunted by several different predators, including dingoes, foxes, and Tasmanian devils. Young wombats are also preyed upon by eagles and owls. In many areas, dogs kill wombats. Humans are one of the greatest threats to wombats, since many people see wombats as pests, and will hunt, trap, and poison them to get rid of them. While the wombats are protected throughout most of their territory now, areas remain where they are constantly killed by people.

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