# Wombat (*Vombatus ursinus*)

Wombats are furry marsupials from Australia. They have strong claws for digging burrows and spend about two-thirds of their lives underground. Wombats are nocturnal, which means they are most active at night.

- **Category:** [Mammals](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/mammal)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 2/5 · Low
- **Habitat:** Forests

![Wombat](https://res.cloudinary.com/drieglelr/image/upload/v1771424811/objects/6516.jpg)

## Appearance

The Wombat is a robust, barrel-shaped marsupial with short, powerful legs and a broad, flat head. It has small eyes and ears, and coarse fur ranging from sandy brown to dark grey, often appearing dusty.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Diprotodontia
- **Family:** Vombatidae
- **Genus:** Vombatus

## Wombat, up close

The bare-nosed wombat (Vombatus ursinus), also called the common wombat, is a stocky burrowing marsupial of south-eastern Australia and Tasmania. It grazes mostly on grasses at night, spends about two-thirds of its life underground and is the only animal known to make cube-shaped poo. Its closest living relative is the koala.

Also called: Bare-nosed wombat, Common wombat, Coarse-haired wombat, Forest wombat, Naked-nosed wombat, Badger (old settlers’ name).

Cube-shaped poo, a backwards pouch, a rock-hard rump and teeth that never stop growing. Spin it, tap it, then test yourself.

### Special abilities

- **Cube Factory** (Last 17% of the gut shapes the cubes): The only animal known to make cube-shaped poo. The corners form inside the end of the intestine, not at the exit. [16][17][18][19][20][9]
  - Bands of the gut wall are about 2× thicker and 4× stiffer than their neighbours. As the gut squeezes, they sculpt flat sides and corners.
  - The poo dries on the way (it ends up about 65% water), so it cracks into pieces about as long as they are wide.
  - Press reports of the first study say a wombat can leave up to about 100 cubes, roughly 2 cm across, in a night.
  - The research won the 2019 Ig Nobel Prize in Physics.
  - Intestine (≈ 9 m): Cubes take shape in the last 17%
- **Bum Shield** (4 fused plates in the rump): Chased by a predator, a wombat dives into its burrow and blocks the entrance with its tough backside. [11][9][2]
  - Under very thick skin, the rump has four bony plates fused together, wrapped in cartilage, fat and fur.
  - Stories of wombats crushing foxes’ skulls with their rump are unproven: see the myths below.
  - Males also chase and nip a female’s rump when courting.
- **Backwards Pouch** (6–10 months in the pouch): The pouch opens towards the back legs, so soil flung back while digging doesn’t fill it. [9][2][10]
  - A newborn weighs about 1 g and is under 3 cm long. It crawls into the pouch on its own.
  - There are two teats, but only one joey at a time.
  - The joey leaves the pouch at 6–10 months and stays close to its mother until about 18 months.
- **Bulldozer Claws** (15–20 m typical burrow length): Short, strong legs and broad claws dig burrows with side tunnels and a nest chamber at the end. [9][10][12][21][5]
  - Burrows can go more than 2 m deep, though many measured in Tasmania were less than 1 m down.
  - Each wombat uses several burrows and may visit up to four in one night. Burrows are shared over time, though rarely at once.
  - Inside a winter burrow it stayed about 11 °C with 94% humidity while the weather outside swung.
  - Burrow length: Typical burrow 15–20 m; Longest mapped by radar (Tasmania) 17.8 m; Longest reported up to 30 m
- **Forever Teeth** (24 teeth that keep growing): Rootless teeth keep growing all its life, so chewing tough grass never wears them away. [7][22][9][2]
  - Wombats are the only marsupials with just one pair of upper front teeth, like a rodent.
  - Kangaroos’ lower front teeth keep growing too, so “the only marsupial with ever-growing teeth” isn’t right.
  - Their front teeth can gnaw through obstacles, much like a beaver’s.
- **Slow Burner** (½ the energy in hard times): One of the most energy-saving mammals of its size. When food is poor, a wombat can roughly halve its energy use. [23][24][14][9][10][25]
  - Bare-nosed wombat metabolism is among the lowest of any mammal over 10 kg, and its home range is up to ten times smaller than expected.
  - In dry seasons hairy-nosed wombats use so little water that they don’t need to drink.
  - Food takes about 2–2.5 days to pass through (in captive wombats), long enough to get the most out of tough grass.
  - Time spent feeding: Bare-nosed wombat 3–8 h a night; Eastern grey kangaroo ≈18 h a day
- **Surprise Sprint** (≈40 km/h reported top speed; still debated): Short legs, but museums and parks agencies say a wombat can burst to about 40 km/h. We found no published measurement. [2][26][25]
  - The 40 km/h figure is repeated by the Australian Museum and the Queensland Government.
  - No study we could find has actually clocked a wombat, so treat it as an estimate.
- **Smell Messages** (44 chemicals found in its poo): Wombats pile cube scats on rocks, logs and burrow entrances, and each wombat’s scats smell different. [3][4][18]
  - In a 2025 study, wombats spent longer sniffing piles where scientists had added scats from an unfamiliar wombat.
  - A second smell organ in the roof of the mouth (the vomeronasal organ) helps read the messages.
  - Scientists think cubes may also stay put on rocks and logs instead of rolling off, but nobody has tested that yet.

### Body parts

- **Nose** [1][2][3]
  - The big, bare, grainy nose pad (the rhinarium) gives the bare-nosed wombat its name. Hairy-nosed wombats have fur there instead.
  - A large smell centre in the brain and a second smell organ in the roof of the mouth (the vomeronasal organ) help it find food and read other wombats’ scent messages.
  - Its whiskers help it feel its way around dark burrows.
- **Eyes** [4][5]
  - Small eyes, and researchers say its eyesight is poor: a wombat relies much more on smell.
  - It is mostly out at night, with busy spells at the start and the end of the night.
- **Ears** [2][6][1]
  - Short and rounded on a bare-nosed wombat.
  - Hairy-nosed wombats have longer, pointier ears: one of the easiest ways to tell the species apart.
- **Teeth** (24 teeth) [7][2][8]
  - One pair of top front teeth and one pair below, no canines, then one premolar and four molars on each side: 24 teeth in all.
  - Front teeth and cheek teeth have no closed roots, so they keep growing all its life.
  - Wombats are the only marsupials with just one pair of upper front teeth, like a rodent.
  - Its food is tough: in one study, 95% of the plant pieces in wombat scats were grasses, mostly snow grasses.
- **Claws** (15–20 m typical burrow) [9][10]
  - Short, powerful legs and strong claws dig burrows that are often 15–20 m long.
  - The front paws can also pick up plants and pass them to the mouth.
- **Rump** (4 fused plates inside) [11][9][2][12]
  - Under very tough, thick skin, the rump has four bony plates fused together, wrapped in cartilage, fat and fur.
  - Chased into a burrow or a hollow log, a wombat blocks the entrance with its rump.
  - The tail is a stub about 2.5 cm long, almost hidden in the fur.
- **Pouch** (6–10 months inside) [9][10][2]
  - It opens backwards, towards the hind legs, so soil doesn’t get in while the mother digs.
  - There are two teats inside, but a wombat raises just one joey at a time.
  - A newborn weighs about 1 g and is less than 3 cm long.
- **Gut** (≈9 m of intestine) [9][13][14][15][16]
  - The digestive tract is about 9 times as long as the body.
  - Most of the fibre is digested in the big first part of the colon, where microbes ferment the grass.
  - In captive wombats, food took about 2–2.5 days to pass through.
  - DNA from scats shows wombats in New South Wales eat more than 200 kinds of plants, mostly grasses.
  - The cube shape forms in the last 17% of the intestine.
- **Coat** [2][6][9]
  - Bare-nosed wombats have coarse, thick fur. Hairy-nosed wombats’ fur is softer and silkier.
  - Tasmanian wombats are smaller than mainland ones: about 85 cm and 20 kg, against about 1 m and 27 kg.

### Stats

| Stat | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 22–39 kg | adult range; mainland average about 26 kg; Tasmanian wombats average about 20 kg [2][9] |
| Length | 84–115 cm | head and body (mainland); Plus a tail of only about 2.5 cm [2][12] |
| Burrow | 15–20 m | typical length; up to 30 m reported; ≈ 15–20 wombats nose to tail [9][10][30] |
| Grazing | 3–8 h | a night, wandering up to 3 km; A grey kangaroo feeds ≈18 h a day [9][10][25] |
| Gut | ≈9 m | of intestine, about 9× its body length [9][13] |
| Digestion | 2–2.5 days | for food to pass through (captive wombats) [14] |
| Cubes | ≈2 cm | per side; up to about 100 a night (press reports) [18] |
| Newborn | ≈1 g | and under 3 cm long at birth; Grows to 22–39 kg [10][2] |
| Teeth | 24 | and all of them keep growing [7] |
| Oldest | 35+ yrs | in a zoo (Wain, Japan); wild lifespan is poorly known [31][2] |

### Photos

- [Bare-nosed wombat on Maria Island, Tasmania](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vombatus_ursinus_-Maria_Island_National_Park.jpg) (photo: JJ Harrison, CC BY-SA 3.0)
- [The bare, grainy nose that gives the species its name](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CommonWombat.jpg) (photo: Ena Music, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [A joey looks out of the backwards pouch](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Common_wombat.jpg) (photo: TimSagorski, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Mother and young at a burrow, Maria Island](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Common_wombat_(Vombatus_ursinus_tasmaniensis)_female_with_juvenile_Maria_Island.jpg) (photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Cube-shaped scats at Cradle Mountain, Tasmania](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wombat_Faeces.jpg) (photo: SojournerRL, CC0)
- [Burrow entrance in Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wombat_burrow.JPG) (photo: Schomynv, Public domain)
- [Southern hairy-nosed wombat, South Australia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_southern_hairy-nosed_wombat_at_Brookfield_Conservation_Park%2C_South_Australia.jpg) (photo: Andrew Katsis, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Bass Strait wombat (Vombatus ursinus ursinus) with its young](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vombatus_ursinus_ursinus_329397141.jpg) (photo: Paul J. Morris, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- [Crossing a road near Thredbo: cars kill thousands of wombats](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wombat_crossing_road.jpg) (photo: Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0)

### Questions

- **Why is wombat poo cube-shaped?** The corners form inside the last 17% of the wombat’s roughly 9 m intestine, where bands of stiffer and softer gut wall squeeze the drying poo into cubes about 2 cm across. Wombats leave the cubes on rocks, logs and burrow entrances as smell messages. [16][9][18][3]
- **How fast can a wombat run?** The Australian Museum and the Queensland Government say wombats can sprint at about 40 km/h over short distances, but we found no study that has measured it. [2][26]
- **How long do wombats live?** Wild lifespans are poorly known (the Australian Museum says up to about 11 years). In zoos wombats can live into their thirties: Wain, a bare-nosed wombat in Japan, was verified at 35 years and 178 days old in 2025. [2][31]
- **What is a baby wombat called?** A joey. It is born after about 30 days weighing about 1 g, lives in its mother’s backwards-facing pouch for 6–10 months and leaves her at about 18 months. [2][10][9]
- **Are wombats endangered?** The bare-nosed wombat is listed as Least Concern, although mange and cars kill many. The northern hairy-nosed wombat is Critically Endangered, with about 400 animals in 2022. [27][43][46][29][26]
- **Did wombats save other animals in the bushfires?** No. Stories that wombats herded animals into their burrows during the 2019–20 fires aren’t true. But their burrows really are used by many other animals, including after fires. [32][30]
- **What is the difference between bare-nosed and hairy-nosed wombats?** Bare-nosed wombats have a big hairless nose, short rounded ears and coarse fur. The two hairy-nosed species have furry noses, longer pointed ears and softer fur. [2][6][1]
- **Where does the word “wombat” come from?** From wambad in Dharug, the Aboriginal language of the Sydney area. It was first recorded in English in 1798. [51]

### Wombat myths and facts

Tap Myth or Fact for each claim, then check the answer.

- "Wombats make cube-shaped poo because they have a square bottom." **Myth!** Their bottom is round like any mammal’s. The corners form inside the last 17% of the intestine, where stiffer and softer bands of gut wall shape the poo. [16][18]
- "A wombat’s pouch opens backwards." **Fact!** It opens towards the hind legs, which keeps soil out while the mother digs. [9][10]
- "During the 2019–20 bushfires, wombats herded other animals into their burrows to save them." **Myth!** Ecologists say wombats don’t round up other animals. But many animals do use wombat burrows, and cameras show burrows stay busy after fires. [32][30]
- "Wombats crush foxes’ skulls with their rump against the burrow roof." **Not proven!** Some museum and park pages repeat it, but a wombat researcher says there’s no evidence. Crushed skulls near burrows may just be wombats clearing dead animals out. [11][2]
- "Wombats are the only marsupials whose teeth never stop growing." **Myth!** Kangaroo and honey possum front teeth keep growing too. What is unique is that wombats have just one pair of upper front teeth. [22][7]
- "Wombats use their poo to send messages." **Fact!** They leave scats on rocks, logs and burrow entrances, and each wombat’s scats smell different. Wombats sniff longer at piles left by strangers. [3][4]
- "Wombats fiercely defend their own territory." **Myth!** Their home ranges overlap and aren’t defended, and burrows are shared over time. They keep in touch by smell instead. [5][3]
- "Diprotodon, the giant Ice Age marsupial, was a giant wombat." **Myth!** Diprotodon, the largest marsupial ever, was a relative from a different family. The true giant wombat was Phascolonus, about 200 kg. [33][34][35]

### Wombat records

Superlatives and record holders, each checked against its source.

- Oldest wombat ever (in a zoo): Wain, a bare-nosed wombat, 35 yrs 178 days (Satsukiyama Zoo, Osaka, Japan · verified May 2025) [31]
- Guinness “oldest marsupial in captivity”: Patrick, Ballarat Wildlife Park, 30 yrs 200 days (Australia · died 2017 (Wain has since lived longer)) [36]
- Biggest burrowing marsupials: Wombats, 22–39 kg (the largest marsupials that dig their own burrows) [30][37][2]
- Only known cube-shaped poo: Bare-nosed wombat, ≈2 cm cubes (shaped in the last 17% of the intestine) [18][16]
- Prize-winning poo science: Yang, Hu, Carver and team, 2019 (Ig Nobel Prize in Physics for explaining cube poo) [17]
- Counted by their hair: Northern hairy-nosed wombat, 2000 (first wild species counted from DNA in hair caught on sticky tape at burrows) [38]

### Life of a wombat joey

From a 1 g newborn to a grown-up wombat in about two years.

- **About 1 month**: Born tiny. After a pregnancy of about 30 days, the newborn weighs about 1 g and is less than 3 cm long. It crawls into the pouch on its own. [2][9][10]
- **0–6 months**: Life in the pouch. It feeds on milk from one of two teats. The pouch opens backwards, so it stays clean while mum digs. [9][2][10]
- **6–10 months**: Out of the pouch. The joey leaves the pouch for good but stays close to its mother, calling her with a soft “huh-huh”. [9][2][10]
- **≈15 months**: Weaned. It stops drinking milk and grazes on grass like an adult. [9]
- **≈18 months**: Moving out. Young wombats leave their mother between about 18 months and 2 years. [9][1]
- **≈2 years**: Grown up. Wombats can breed at about 2 years old. A mother usually raises one joey every 2 years. [9][2][39]
- **35+ years**: A long life. Wild lifespans are poorly known, but in zoos wombats can live into their thirties. [2][31]

### Inside a wombat burrow

Wombats spend about two-thirds of their lives underground, and many other animals use their burrows too.

- **15–20 m** typical burrow length. Up to 30 m has been reported, and some go more than 2 m deep, with side tunnels and a nest of grass and bark. [9][10][12]
- **≈11 °C** and 94% humidity inside. A winter burrow in Tasmania stayed steady while the weather outside swung. Wombats stay underground when it’s hotter than about 26 °C. [21][12]
- **56** species seen at burrows. Cameras caught bush rats, antechinuses, lace monitors and birds using burrow sites more than nearby ground, even after the 2019–20 fires. [30][40]
- **Up to 20** burrows used by one wombat. A wombat may use up to 20 burrows over a few weeks, sleeping 1–4 days in one before moving on. [12][5]

### Are wombats endangered?

The bare-nosed wombat is not threatened overall, but disease and roads hit hard in places, and one of its cousins is among the rarest mammals on Earth.

- **IUCN Red List:** Least Concern (LC). Still widespread in south-eastern Australia and Tasmania, where counts rose over the past decades despite mange. But it has disappeared from much of its old range, such as western Victoria, since European settlement, and only one population remains in Queensland. [27][41][2][42][12]
- IUCN Red List, assessed October 2024 (published 2025).
- **Threat: Sarcoptic mange** (−94%): A skin mite (the same one that causes scabies in people) brings hair loss and thick, crusty skin, and kills if untreated. It wiped out 94% of the wombats in one Tasmanian national park, and 80% in seven years in central Tasmania. [43][44][10][45]
- **Threat: Cars** (2,391): Wombat road deaths reported by citizen scientists in 2015–2019, most of them in winter. [46]
- **Threat: Lost range**: Land clearing since European settlement has left wombats missing from many places they used to live. [2][42]
- **Helping: Mange treatment**: Approved pour-on medicine (moxidectin) and a newer single-dose treatment (fluralaner) can clear mange from wild wombats in weeks. [45][47]
- **Helping: Citizen science**: People report sick and road-killed wombats with the WomSAT app, which shows where to put warning signs and treat mange. [46]
- **Helping: Island refuges** (21 → ≈2,600): 21 wombats moved from Flinders Island to Maria Island in 1971 now number about 2,600. [42][48]
- **Northern hairy-nosed wombat** (CR): Down to about 35 animals in 1982. Thanks to a 20 km dog-proof fence and new refuges (Richard Underwood, 2009; Powrunna State Forest, 2024), there were about 400 at Epping Forest National Park in 2022. Drought, floods, predators and its tiny range still threaten it. [26][6][49][50][29]
- **Southern hairy-nosed wombat** (LC): Least Concern worldwide, but listed as Endangered in New South Wales. [28][10]

### Bare-nosed vs hairy-nosed wombats

There are three living wombat species. Check the nose and ears to tell them apart.

| | Bare-nosed wombat | Southern hairy-nosed | Northern hairy-nosed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific name [2][25] | Vombatus ursinus | Lasiorhinus latifrons | Lasiorhinus krefftii |
| Nose [1][6] | Bare and grainy | Covered in fur | Covered in fur |
| Ears [2][6][1] | Short, rounded | Longer, pointed | Longer, pointed |
| Fur [2][6] | Coarse and thick | Soft and silky | Soft and silky |
| Average weight [2][25] | ≈26–30 kg | ≈26 kg (smallest) | ≈32 kg (largest) |
| IUCN status [27][28][29] | Least Concern | Least Concern | Critically Endangered |

The bare-nosed wombat is the only living species in its genus; both hairy-nosed wombats belong to Lasiorhinus.

### Wombat sounds and signals

- Low growl: A warning to keep away. [2]
- Rasping hiss: Alarmed or threatened. [2]
- “Chikker-chikker”: An aggressive call between wombats. [2]
- Soft “huh-huh”: A joey calling to its mother. [2]
- Cube scats on a rock or log: A smell message: who passed by, and when. [3][9]
- Polished logs and branches: Favourite rubbing posts, worn smooth by wombats scratching against them. [9]

### Species

- **Bare-nosed wombat**: Big bare, grainy nose, short rounded ears and coarse fur. (Least Concern · south-east Australia and Tasmania) [2][27]
- **Southern hairy-nosed wombat**: Furry nose, longer pointed ears and soft, silky fur. The smallest wombat. (Least Concern · Endangered in New South Wales) [25][6][1][28][10]
- **Northern hairy-nosed wombat**: The biggest wombat: furry nose, long pointed ears and faint dark eye patches. (Critically Endangered · about 400 left) [25][26][29]
- **Mother with joey**: After leaving the pouch at 6–10 months, a joey stays close to its mother until about 18 months. (One joey at a time) [9][2]

### Wombat quiz

1. What shape is wombat poo? **Cubes.** Wombats are the only animals known to make cube-shaped poo. [18][16]
2. Where does the cube shape form? **Inside the last part of the intestine.** Stiffer and softer bands in the last 17% of the intestine shape the corners. The bottom is round. [16]
3. Which way does a wombat’s pouch open? **Backwards, towards the hind legs.** A backwards pouch keeps soil out while the mother digs. [9][10]
4. How long does a joey live in the pouch? **6–10 months.** It leaves the pouch at 6–10 months and stays near its mother until about 18 months. [9][2]
5. How heavy is a newborn wombat? **About 1 g.** A newborn weighs about 1 g and is less than 3 cm long. [10]
6. Which animal is the wombat’s closest living relative? **Koala.** Wombats and koalas are each other’s closest living relatives. [9][25]
7. What is special about a wombat’s teeth? **They never stop growing.** Its front teeth and cheek teeth are rootless and keep growing all its life. [7]
8. How long is a typical wombat burrow? **15–20 m.** Typical burrows are 15–20 m long; up to 30 m has been reported. [9][10]
9. Did wombats herd animals into their burrows during the 2019–20 bushfires? **No, but other animals do use their burrows.** Ecologists say wombats don’t round animals up, but many animals do use wombat burrows, even after fires. [32][30]
10. Which wombat is Critically Endangered? **Northern hairy-nosed wombat.** About 35 were left in 1982; about 400 lived at Epping Forest National Park in 2022. [29][26]
11. Which disease has wiped out wombats in parts of Tasmania? **Sarcoptic mange.** Mange, caused by a skin mite, wiped out 94% of the wombats in one national park. [43]
12. How old was Wain, the oldest wombat on record, when Guinness checked in 2025? **35 years.** Wain was verified at 35 years and 178 days old at a zoo in Osaka, Japan. [31]

### Sources (checked 2026-10-16)

1. [Old J (2025, 7 Oct). Whiskers for warrens: why wombats have such whiskery snouts. The Conversation.](https://theconversation.com/whiskers-for-warrens-why-wombats-have-such-whiskery-snouts-266351)
2. [Australian Museum (Divljan A; updated 7 Aug 2026). Bare-nosed Wombat, Vombatus ursinus – animal factsheet.](https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/common-wombat/)
3. [McMahon K, While G, Nichols D, Edwards A, Hu D, Carver S (2025). Deriving the functional significance of olfaction in a solitary non-territorial herbivore: the bare-nosed wombat Vombatus ursinus. Journal of Zoology 327(4):386–397.](https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.70068)
4. [Floyd A (2025, 16 Dec). Why do wombats have square poop? UGA Today, University of Georgia.](https://news.uga.edu/why-do-wombats-have-square-poop/)
5. [Evans MC (2008). Home range, burrow-use and activity patterns in common wombats (Vombatus ursinus). Wildlife Research 35(5):455–462.](https://doi.org/10.1071/WR07067)
6. [Department of Environment and Science, Queensland (2022). Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat Recovery Action Plan 2022.](https://www.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/287634/northern-hairy-nosed-wombat-recovery-action-plan-2022.pdf)
7. [Sharp AC, Trusler PW (2015). Morphology of the jaw-closing musculature in the common wombat (Vombatus ursinus) using digital dissection and magnetic resonance imaging. PLoS ONE 10(2):e0117730.](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0117730)
8. [Evans MC, Macgregor C, Jarman PJ (2006). Diet and feeding selectivity of common wombats. Wildlife Research 33(4):321–330.](https://doi.org/10.1071/WR05047)
9. [Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas). Bare-nosed Wombat (page last published 7 Aug 2026).](https://nre.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/fauna-of-tasmania/mammals/possums-kangaroos-and-wombats/wombat)
10. [NSW Government, Environment and Heritage. Wombats – native animal facts (updated 10 Jan 2024).](https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/native-animals/native-animal-facts/wombats)
11. [Boseley M (2020, 4 Nov). Wombats' deadly bums: how they use their 'skull-crushing' rumps to fight, play and flirt. The Guardian.](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/nov/04/wombats-deadly-bums-how-they-use-their-skull-crushing-rumps-to-fight-play-and-flirt)
12. [Venz M (2015; common name updated 2022). Bare-nosed wombat, Vombatus ursinus. Targeted species survey guidelines. Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Science.](https://www.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/67430/common-wombat.pdf)
13. [Barboza PS, Hume ID (1992). Digestive tract morphology and digestion in the wombats (Marsupialia: Vombatidae). Journal of Comparative Physiology B 162(6):552–560.](https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00264817)
14. [Barboza PS (1993). Digestive strategies of the wombats: feed intake, fiber digestion, and digesta passage in two grazing marsupials with hindgut fermentation. Physiological Zoology 66(6):983–999.](https://doi.org/10.1086/physzool.66.6.30163750)
15. [Old JM, Vallin BL, Thorley RK, Casey F, Stannard HJ (2024). DNA metabarcoding analysis of the bare-nosed wombat (Vombatus ursinus) diet. Ecology and Evolution 14(5):e11432.](https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11432)
16. [Yang PJ, Lee AB, Chan M, Kowalski M, Qiu K, Waid C, Cervantes G, Magondu B, Biagioni M, Vogelnest L, Martin A, Edwards A, Carver S, Hu DL (2021). Intestines of non-uniform stiffness mold the corners of wombat feces. Soft Matter 17(3):475–488.](https://doi.org/10.1039/d0sm01230k)
17. [Improbable Research. Past Ig Nobel Prize winners – 2019 Ig Nobel Prize in Physics (Yang, Lee, Chan, Martin, Edwards, Carver, Hu).](https://improbable.com/ig/winners/)
18. [Sample I (2018, 18 Nov). Scientists unravel secret of cube-shaped wombat faeces. The Guardian.](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/nov/18/scientists-unravel-secret-of-cube-shaped-wombat-faeces)
19. [Magondu B, Lee AB, Schulz A, Buchelli GC, Meng M, Kaminski C, Yang PJ, Carver S, Hu DL (2023). Drying dynamics of pellet feces. Soft Matter 19(4):723–732.](https://doi.org/10.1039/d2sm00359g)
20. [Kean Z (2023, 21 Feb). Cubed wombat poo puzzle completed by researchers with the help of physics, volcanic science. ABC News.](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-21/wombats-square-poo-research-how-consistent-cubes-made/102000530)
21. [Browne E, Driessen MM, Ross R, Roach M, Carver S (2021). Environmental suitability of bare-nosed wombat burrows for Sarcoptes scabiei. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 16:37–47.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2021.08.003)
22. [Parker WMG, Adams JW, Campbell EJ, Coulson G, Sanson GD, Evans AR (2024). Evergrowing incisors of diprotodont marsupials record age and life history. Archives of Oral Biology 165:106018.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archoralbio.2024.106018)
23. [Evans M, Green B, Newgrain K (2003). The field energetics and water fluxes of free-living wombats (Marsupialia: Vombatidae). Oecologia 137(2):171–180.](https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1322-4)
24. [Carver S, Stannard GL, Martin AM (2024). The distinctive biology and characteristics of the bare-nosed wombat (Vombatus ursinus). Annual Review of Animal Biosciences 12:135–160.](https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-animal-021022-042133)
25. [Queensland Government. About northern hairy-nosed wombats (last updated 7 Oct 2021).](https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/conservation/threatened-species/featured-projects/northern-hairy-nosed-wombat/northern-hairy-nosed-wombat/about-northern-hairy-nosed-wombats)
26. [Queensland Government. Northern hairy-nosed wombat – featured threatened species project (last updated 30 Aug 2024).](https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/conservation/threatened-species/featured-projects/northern-hairy-nosed-wombat)
27. [Old J, Stannard H, Woinarski JCZ, Burbidge AA (2025). Vombatus ursinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T40556A258654868 (assessed 11 Oct 2024).](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS.T40556A258654868.en)
28. [Woinarski JCZ, Burbidge AA, Old J, Stannard H (2025). Lasiorhinus latifrons. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T40555A258654451 (assessed 19 Nov 2024).](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS.T40555A258654451.en)
29. [Taggart D, Martin R, Horsup A (2016). Lasiorhinus krefftii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T11343A21959050 (assessed 15 Jun 2015).](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T11343A21959050.en)
30. [Linley GD, Geary WL, Jolly CJ, Spencer EE, Ashman KR, Michael DR, Westaway DM, Nimmo DG (2024). Wombat burrows are hotspots for small vertebrates in a landscape subject to gigafire. Journal of Mammalogy 105(4):752–764.](https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyae034)
31. [Guinness World Records. Oldest wombat in captivity ever (Wain).](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/465448-oldest-wombat-in-captivity)
32. [Nimmo D (2020, 14 Jan). Tales of wombat 'heroes' have gone viral. Unfortunately, they're not true. The Conversation (republished by ABC News 15 Jan 2020).](https://theconversation.com/tales-of-wombat-heroes-have-gone-viral-unfortunately-theyre-not-true-129891)
33. [Louys J, Price G, Duval M, Beck R (2022, 12 Dec). For the first time ever, we have a complete skull description of a true fossil giant wombat. The Conversation.](https://theconversation.com/for-the-first-time-ever-we-have-a-complete-skull-description-of-a-true-fossil-giant-wombat-196037)
34. [Australian Museum (Musser A; updated 30 Jun 2026). Diprotodon optatum.](https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/extinct-animals/diprotodon-optatum/)
35. [Bradshaw CJA, Johnson CN, Llewelyn J, Weisbecker V, Strona G, Saltré F (2021). Relative demographic susceptibility does not explain the extinction chronology of Sahul's megafauna. eLife 10:e63870.](https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.63870)
36. [Guinness World Records. Oldest marsupial in captivity ever (Patrick).](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-marsupial)
37. [Morris SD, Johnson CN, Brook BW, Kearney MR (2024). Seasonal and depth-dependent thermoregulatory benefits of burrows for wombats – the largest burrowing marsupials. Journal of Thermal Biology 125:103961.](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.103961)
38. [Johnson C (2013, 1 May). Australian endangered species: Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat. The Conversation.](https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-northern-hairy-nosed-wombat-13148)
39. [AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database (Human Ageing Genomic Resources), Build 15. Coarse-haired wombat (Vombatus ursinus) entry.](https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Vombatus_ursinus)
40. [Linley G, Nimmo D (2024, 16 May). Cameras reveal wombat burrows can be safe havens after fire and waterholes after rain. The Conversation.](https://theconversation.com/cameras-reveal-wombat-burrows-can-be-safe-havens-after-fire-and-waterholes-after-rain-226396)
41. [Driessen M, Dewar E, Carver S, Lawrence C, Gales R (2022). Conservation status of common wombats in Tasmania II: population distribution and trends, and the incidence and significance of roadkill. Pacific Conservation Biology 28(2):115–123.](https://doi.org/10.1071/PC21031)
42. [Martin A, Carver S, Proft K, Fraser TA, Polkinghorne A, Banks S, Burridge CP (2019). Isolation, marine transgression and translocation of the bare-nosed wombat (Vombatus ursinus). Evolutionary Applications 12(6):1114–1123.](https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12785)
43. [Martin AM, Burridge CP, Ingram J, Fraser TA, Carver S (2018). Invasive pathogen drives host population collapse: effects of a travelling wave of sarcoptic mange on bare-nosed wombats. Journal of Applied Ecology 55(1):331–341.](https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12968)
44. [Carver S, Lewin ZM, Burgess LG, Wilkinson V, Whitehead J, Driessen MM (2023). Density independent decline from an environmentally transmitted parasite. Biology Letters 19(8):20230169.](https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0169)
45. [Stannard HJ, Wynan MB, Wynan RJ, Cox A, Ralph H, Doran GS (2024). Treatment of sarcoptic mange in wombats with topical moxidectin. Veterinary Medicine and Science 10(6):e70089.](https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.70089)
46. [Mayadunnage S, Stannard H, West P, Old J (2023; online 2022). Identification of roadkill hotspots and the factors affecting wombat vehicle collisions using the citizen science tool, WomSAT. Australian Mammalogy 45(1):53–61.](https://doi.org/10.1071/AM22001)
47. [Wilkinson V, Takano K, Nichols D, Martin A, Holme R, Phalen D, Mounsey K, Charleston M, Kreiss A, Pye R, Browne E, Næsborg-Nielsen C, Richards SA, Carver S (2021). Fluralaner as a novel treatment for sarcoptic mange in the bare-nosed wombat (Vombatus ursinus): safety, pharmacokinetics, efficacy and practicable use. Parasites & Vectors 14:18.](https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04500-9)
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## Measurements & details

- **Length:** 84-115 cm
- **Weight:** 22-39 kg
- **Lifespan:** 5-15 years
- **Speed:** 40 km/h
- **Litter Size:** 1
- **Gestation:** 20-30 days

## Diet & Feeding

These sturdy marsupials munch on grasses, roots, and herbs they find by foraging.

- **Primary Foods:** Grasses, Roots, Herbs, Fungi, Bark
- **Foraging Method:** Foraging

## Ecological connections

- **Eaten by:** [Tasmanian Devil](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tasmanian-devil) (*Sarcophilus harrisii*) — Tasmanian Devils hunt wombats in Tasmania.
- **Eaten by:** Wedge-tailed Eagle (*Aquila audax*) — Large eagles may take young wombats as prey.
- **Shelter:** [European Rabbit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/european-rabbit) (*Oryctolagus cuniculus*) — Rabbits and other small mammals often use abandoned wombat burrows.

## Traits

- [Wildlife](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/wildlife): Wildlife encompasses all undomesticated animal and plant life existing in their natural habitats.
- [Furry](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/furry): Furry describes animals possessing a dense covering of soft hair or fur.
- [Burrowing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/burrowing): Burrowing animals dig tunnels and chambers in the ground, using these subterranean structures for shelter, hunting, or breeding.
- [Herbivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/herbivorous): This trait characterizes organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of plant material.
- [Forest](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/forest): Forest habitats are terrestrial environments dominated by dense tree cover, supporting a high diversity of plant and animal life.
- [Nocturnal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/nocturnal): Nocturnal animals are primarily active during the nighttime hours, typically resting or sleeping during the day.

## Collections

- [Mammals](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/mammals)

## Safety

**Danger:** 2/5 · Low

Wombats are generally shy and avoid humans. Always observe them from a safe distance.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Wombat?

Compare ears, muzzle, tail, feet and coat markings. Size is hard to judge without something nearby for scale, and young mammals may not have adult coloring yet. Mammal Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Wombat?

84-115 cm

### How much does Wombat weigh?

22-39 kg

### How long does Wombat live?

5-15 years

### What does Wombat eat?

These sturdy marsupials munch on grasses, roots, and herbs they find by foraging.

### Where is Wombat usually found?

Forests

## Where to spot

- [Zoo Duisburg](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/zoo-duisburg) — Nordrhein-Westfalen, DE · Zoo

## More Mammals

- [Eastern Fox Squirrel](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-fox-squirrel) (*Sciurus niger*)
- [Eastern Cottontail](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-cottontail) (*Sylvilagus floridanus*)
- [Eastern Chipmunk](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-chipmunk) (*Tamias striatus*)
- [California Ground Squirrel](https://www.snappit.app/explore/california-ground-squirrel) (*Otospermophilus beecheyi*)

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Source: [Wombat: Characteristics, Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/wombat)