Post by wildrose71 on Jan 3, 2007 10:39:34 GMT 10
Wombat Facts
There are three known species of Wombats:
Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus);
Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons);
Northern Hairy Nosed (Lasiorhinus krefftii);
Wombat fur may range from cream to grey, brown, or black.
Before being protected by law, it was often hunted for the value of its fur pelt
An adult Common Wombat weighs 20 - 40 kg. Head and body measure 100 cm and the tail is 2.5 cm long.
A wombat can run at 40km/h for a short distance.
If grasped on the back, a wombat will kick backward with both hind feet like a donkey.
Although wombats look cute they can be aggressive, threatening, and dangerous.
Newborn bean sized wombat weights only one gram.
It drags itself into the backward-facing mother’s pouch, attaches to a nipple and stays there for six - ten months.
Resting in borrow slows down wombat's metabolism to 60-70% of its normal rate.
Wombat life span is 5 - 26 years.
The Northern hairy-nosed wombat is exceptionally rare and critically endangered.
Current population is between 90 – 150 wombats.
There is only one known colony of Northern hairy-nosed wombat, so they are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters.
