Fast Diggers The muscular forelegs of wombats are adept at excavating burrows. All rights reserved. Page Citations Finlayson et al. Contact Us Email the librarians at library sdzwa. Keep in mind, though, that a displaced wombat may subsequently burrow in a more undesirable location. Wombats prefer to burrow in areas of vegetation and rocky debris.
Land clearing has forced wombats to build burrows along creeks and drainage lines where vegetation still exists. Wombats are also often incorrectly blamed for causing erosion, which is more likely due to poor land management practices. Planting trees and revegetating areas away from creeks can play a vital role in reducing wombat burrowing activity along creek beds.
Retaining existing trees, logs and rocks, and establishing new areas of native vegetation encourages wombats to construct burrows in less fragile areas and reduces the risk of erosion. Only inactive burrows may be bulldozed. Bulldozing an active burrow can lead to wombats being buried alive and suffering a slow and painful death.
Even if you have found an apparently vacant burrow, you must not fill it in without confirming that it is inactive. Burrow activity can be confirmed by placing sticks across each entrance and checking every day for at least a week if these are disturbed.
Remember that if you bulldoze an inactive burrow, the next wombat to enter your property may burrow in a more inconvenient place. For further information about living with wombats contact your local national parks office or Local Land Services. The trapping and relocation of wombats is not permitted. This is because wombats are territorial animals and if relocated, they are likely to be harassed or even killed by resident wombats. It is an offence to harm a wombat unless a licence is obtained from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.
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In this section Wombats Living with wombats. Living with wombats Wombats are extremely strong and determined animals and may sometimes build their burrows under houses, along driveways or along domestic stock routes. Understanding their habitat needs expand. Learning about their behaviour expand. Using deterrents expand. Increasing native vegetation expand.
Ensuring good ground cover and riparian vegetation along waterways through fencing from stock and revegetation if necessary , will ameliorate most wombat impacts because they tend to keep themselves to specific areas. Wombats inhabit a variety of habitats — forests, alpine, heathlands and coastal shrublands. The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat once had a broad range across the three eastern mainland Australian states. The common wombat Vombatus ursinus is solitary, and nocturnal in nature.
Its preferred habitat is wet, forested areas with slopes for good burrow drainage with a good source of grass, shrubs, roots, bark, and moss.
All three wombat species eat a variety of variety of grasses, sedges, forbs, roots, and bulbs with their preference being for native grasses.
Wombats may sometimes use the same feed sources as domestic stock, but they are solitary animals and their preference is for native grasses so, generally, their grazing impacts are minimal.
An important fact to note is that wombats are territorial animals. They mark their home range by grunting at intruders, rubbing their scent on trees, and scattering cube-shaped droppings, including the creation of soils on elevated surfaces. The unique shape of their dung helps keep the markings in place around their territory. They may have up to twelve burrows in a home range, with three to four main burrows.
A main burrow will house a network of sub-tunnels, that include multiple entrances and sleeping quarters. Most of the time wombats remain in their burrows to stay out of the heat and then venture out at night. This means that in most cases, an active burrow or system of burrows will be home to a sleeping wombat.
It is safest to make this assumption when undertaking activities that may impact on them. Mating generally occurs on a seasonal basis and is in relation to their location of their territory and associated conditions. In the wild wombats have a lifespan of around fifteen years but can live up to thirty years in captivity. Threats include destruction of habitat, competition with rabbits and livestock, poison, hunting, and road accidents.
Foxes also spread deadly diseases to wombats such as mange.
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