TASMANSK WOMBAT

THE AUSTRALIAN CAVE DWELLER

The Tasmanian wombat is a marsupial that lives in the forests and bushlands of Tasmania – and in the Australian Billabong at the zoo. With its compact, muscular body and short legs, it moves calmly through the landscape. But don’t be fooled by its slow, lumbering pace – if necessary, a wombat can break into a fast run.

The wombat is primarily nocturnal. However, the Tasmanian wombat is more diurnal than the other subspecies. It spends most of the day in tunnels and burrows, which it digs itself with its long, powerful claws. The underground passages serve as a refuge, where it can seek shelter from both wind, weather and predators such as dingoes on the Australian mainland and Tasmanian devils in Tasmania. The Tasmanian wombat mainly searches for food at night, but also moves out during periods of the day.

The wombat is basically a solitary animal that prefers its own territory. It marks it with scent and feces. It prefers to avoid conflicts, but can defend itself if it feels threatened. If it is hunted, it quickly seeks its burrow. It crawls down head first, and here its strong back part – a plate of hard cartilage – acts as a kind of shield that can block the opening and protect it from predators.

Wombats communicate primarily through smells, but also use grunting and hissing sounds, especially when competing for territories or during the mating season. The female, like other marsupials, gives birth to a very small young. After birth, the young crawl into the pouch, where it attaches to a nipple and develops further. It stays there for 6-10 months before emerging.