- This is a representative of the Australian fauna, which is active in the dark. The herbivore animal similarly to meerkats, mongooses and ferrets digs holes. Vegetation is the main food of the animal. He looks friendly and seems safe, however, this is an erroneous opinion. As soon as the wombat senses a threat, it immediately becomes aggressive. It is appropriate to say that nature endowed this animal with the sharpest hearing.

Where does the wombat live

Australia and Tasmania are the main regions where the wombat lives. It is found in Southern New Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Its habitat is vast fields, mountains and forests. The wombat has a huge need for land, in which he tirelessly digs minks - he lives there and marks his own territory there.

The wombat will always protect the inhabited expanses and scare away uninvited guests with a harsh moo. Often this is enough for them to leave him alone, but if necessary, the wombat is ready to join the fray. Previously, all of Australia was inhabited by wombats, but due to the intensive extermination of rodents, their population has significantly decreased. To date, they can only be found in the southern part of the mainland.

Gallery: animal wombat (25 photos)

looks like a small stocky bear because of its short legs. But in fact, he is the "relative" of the koala and kangaroo. The body is massive and thick, a large head. Currently, three varieties of these mammals are known:

• common Vombatus ursinus;
• wide-browed;
• northern, or woolly-nosed Creft.

Representatives of the last two varieties have another name - long-haired.

Appearance

The body length of an adult animal reaches about 75-130 cm. The weight is 25-45 kg. The body looks compact, the legs are short, but at the same time extremely strong. There are five toes on each foot, four of which have piercing claws - with which he digs his trenches. On the big head two small eyes are located. Very long and thin tail.

The common wombat has a completely bare nose, short rounded ears, a gray-brownish coat, completely hard to the touch. Representatives of the other two species - northern and broad-browed - have a hairy nose, much larger ears and soft fur. The largest among the rest is the wombat, which belongs to the broad-browed species. His hallmarks flat forehead and pointed ears are considered.

Who is a wombat

It is found mainly underground in a hole that he himself dug.. With its longish sharp claws, this animal is able to build both small caves and real tunnel crossings. The length of which can reach about 20 meters, and the depth of the order - 3.5 meters. At the transition points underground systems independent caves are formed, in which various "families" of these mammals can live at different times. They are quite charming and extremely surprising, because during the day they rest, being in their shelters, and under the cover of night they show their activity to find food.

Adults have almost no natural enemies.However, only tasmanian devils and wild dingoes.

Nutrition

The source of food for wombats is vegetation. They use:

• grass sprouts;
• roots of found plants;
• can be saturated with moss;
• as well as mushrooms and berries.

And they recognize edible vegetation through the upper lip. Strong front teeth protrude from under it, with which the animals instantly cut off young shoots to the very root. Due to the excellently developed sense of smell, these representatives of the fauna are the best way to navigate even in the dark.

The breeding phase begins in May and continues until August. No more than three weeks are allotted for carrying a wombat cub. During one pregnancy, she can give birth to only one "heir", who after birth for a sufficiently maximum period of time remains under her protection. This animal has a bag on its abdomen, which is turned back. This placement helps wombats to easily dig their tunnels even at a time when little wombat(baby) stays in this bag.

Wombat breeding occurs in almost the entire area where it lives, with the exception of isolated arid zones. In such habitats, this animal is able to produce offspring only at a specified time of the year. In situations wildlife the northern and the common wombat last an average of about fifteen years. In captivity, their life expectancy, on the contrary, increases to a quarter of a century.

Australia is famous for its gigantic number of zoological parks and tourist centers, where animals live in captivity and breed absolutely actively. The Australian wombat is extremely popular, despite the fact that it is extremely difficult to tame them. But the park staff managed to find mutual language with these creatures: after lengthy persuasion, they nevertheless leave their personal "apartments" for everyone to see and even allow themselves to be stroked.

But do not forget about their far from meek nature, which can awaken at any moment. As soon as the marsupial senses danger, it is immediately able to attack a person and scratch him with his rather rather large and strong claws. If he is not provoked, then he will not show signs of anger. But at the same time, even a bad mood can affect his mode of action.

Being powerful and strong, owning remarkable weight, sharp teeth and massive jaws, an angry wombat will leave deep wounds if a person does not hide from his field of vision at the right time. In addition, being angry, these animals can completely and completely exterminate the vegetation that will be in the area. He will diligently dig up the entire plot until there is not a single sprout left on it.

Such data makes the wombat not the kindest pet. He is unpredictable, overly shy and because of this represents great danger for a person. And even if the threat is not realistic, a fearful wombat can pounce on an imaginary enemy.

Today, many people want to keep such a pet at home. However, experts do not recommend ... Because it can bring a lot of trouble for both other pets and people. If the animal is frightened or feels threatened, it may bite or scratch. Undoubtedly, this fluffy and funny animal causes sympathy and respect. However, having a wombat at home is not the best option.

A favorable place for this animal is a vast territory personal plot and not a house. At the same time, it is important to remember about the climate zone of residence, as they endure the cool season incredibly badly.

Wombats (lat. Vombatidae) - a family of two-bladed marsupials that lives in Australia. Wombats are burrowing herbivores that look like small bears.
Wombats reach a length of 70 to 120 cm and a weight of 20 to 40 kg. Their body is built compactly, limbs are short and strong. Each of them has five fingers, of which the outer four are crowned big claws adapted for digging the earth. The tail is short, the large head gives the impression of being slightly flattened, the eyes are small.

It is curious that the jaws and teeth of the wombat show similarities with rodents. In the upper and lower rows, wombats have a pair of front cutting teeth. Chewing teeth are built very simply, angular teeth are absent. Wombats have the fewest teeth of any marsupial.

Wombats are the largest of modern mammals engaged in digging and conducting most life underground. With their sharp claws, they tear out small habitable caves in the ground, which sometimes form complex tunnel systems.

The adult wombat has almost no natural enemies. One of the few is the dingo imported by man. The back of the wombat's body is extremely hard due to the thick skin, cartilage, and bones. In case of danger, they can, turning their backs, block their hole and repel most of the attackers, or crush their limbs against the walls of their living cave. On the back of the back, pelvic bones, the wombat has a kind of shield that protects it from being attacked from behind. He also inflicts strong blows head - butts like a ram or a goat. If a dog crawls into his hole, he waits for it, without leaving the spot, and then tries to drive it into a corner, against the wall of the hole, and strangle it there. Much more often, a person, primarily cars, is to blame for the death of a wombat. In areas where human impact is low, the abundance of wombats is determined by the availability of nutrient plants.

At short distances, wombats can reach speeds of up to 42 km / h, and also swim away from danger by swimming or climbing trees.

Wombats eat young grass shoots. Roots, mosses and mushrooms are also sometimes eaten. The metabolism of wombats is very slow and efficient. They need 14 days to digest food. Wombats are the most efficient water drinkers of all the mammals that evolution has produced. They need 22 ml of water per kg of body weight per day. Even such kangaroos adapted to Australian conditions consume four times more water.

Five extinct genera of wombats are known. Wombats appeared about 18 million years ago in the Miocene. The closest relatives of wombats are representatives of the family marsupial bears(koala). With them, wombats have numerous similarities in the structure of teeth, skull and spermatozoa. However, there are also a number of morphological differences that indicate that the evolutionary lineages of koalas and wombats diverged approximately 36 million years ago. An even closer relative of wombats was diprotodon, a giant rhinoceros-sized marsupial that went extinct only about 40,000 years ago.

After the settlement of Australia by Europeans, the range of wombats was significantly reduced. The reasons for this were the destruction of their habitats, competition with imported species and hunting for wombats. Of the Queensland wombat, today there are only 118 specimens living in small nature reserve in Queensland. The other two species are more common and are not yet endangered (text - Wikipedia).

Wombat - Australia

The wombat is a rare animal native to Australia.

It belongs to the family of two-crested marsupials, which also includes kangaroos and koalas. The closest relatives of wombats can be considered marsupial bears. The wombat is a small animal, its body length usually ranges from 70 to 120 cm. The average weight of a wombat ranges from 20 to 45 kg.

Outwardly, this animal has some resemblance to a bear. The body is quite compact, has short limbs, which are distinguished by great strength. With their help, wombats dig holes in the ground. Each wombat paw ends in five toes with large claws. Claws are the main tool of the wombat-digger. According to the structure of its jaws and teeth, the wombat resembles a rodent. Among all marsupial wombat the most “toothless”, he has only 12 teeth.

The main habitat of the wombat is the states of Victoria, New South Wales, New Australia, Tasmania, Queensland. They can live in almost any conditions, the main thing is that the earth in this area can be dug.

To date, there are two types of wombats, which differ in some ways. The first species was named the woolly-nosed wombat because of the fur on its nose.

AT this species includes two subspecies - the Queensland wombat and the long-haired wombat.

The second type of wombats are bare-nosed, they do not have hair on their nose. This species includes shorthair wombats and salamate wombats. In addition, science knew five more species of wombats, which today are completely extinct.

Wombat life

B Most of the life of a wombat passes underground, in a hole. Of all the mammals, it is the largest burrowing animal. A burrow is a wombat dwelling that can connect to other dwellings through underground tunnels. Such a tunnel can be up to twenty meters long, and the average depth of a wombat hole is 3.5 meters. All day long, the wombat hides from the hot sun in the bowels of the earth, and by night it gets out to the surface to find food for itself. Wombats feed on grass, mainly finding young shoots. In extreme cases, they may eat moss, berries, mushrooms, or roots.

On the ground, the wombat encounters few dangers. The only predator that threatens the measured life of the wombat is the wild dog dingo.

The wombat is always protected by the back of the body, as it is very hard and almost impenetrable. Thick skin, cartilage and bones perfectly reflect the attacks of enemies. Sometimes a wombat can obscure the entrance to its hole with the back of its body in order to secure the dwelling. Defensively, wombats headbutt opponents as if butting heads. When a dingo dog enters a hole, the wombat drives it into a far corner and strangles it with the back of its body.

Wombats in nature

Wombats are excellent defenders of their territory. Defensively, they show serious aggression, and can easily strangle almost any opponent. Warning of danger, wombats moo menacingly and wave their heads in different directions. Such a gesture is a signal to attack. Despite the short legs, the wombat is able to run very fast. Moving away from the enemy, he can develop a phenomenal speed of up to 62 kilometers per hour. If necessary, the wombat can climb a tree or burrow into the ground.

Usually wombats can breed throughout the year. However, those species that live in the arid part of the country breed only in certain seasons. Each female can give birth to one cub.

Until about eight months of age, the wombat cub is constantly in the mother's bag, and only then gradually begins to lead an independent life. The first year the cub is completely dependent on the mother and is always near her.

The wombat is a herbivore animal belonging to the fauna of the smallest mainland, Australia. Appearance looks like a little bear. Scientists classify wombats as a family of two-crested marsupials.

What does a wombat look like

The length of an exotic animal is 71 - 122 cm, weighs from 22 to 45 km. Head relative to the body. seems large, has a slightly flattened shape on the sides, tiny eyes and short but strong five-fingered paws. The claws on the fingers are disproportionately larger relative to the size of the animal. This is necessary for digging holes, since the animal spends most of its life underground. For their habitat, they choose an area with soil suitable for burrowing. The wombat has only 12 teeth, which, like the jaws, resemble the structure of the chewing system of rodents. A miniature ponytail completes the picture.

Below - beautiful photos Australian wombat:

What does it eat

The animal feeds on shoots of young herbaceous plants. Less commonly, moss, plant roots, berries, mushrooms. Helps to choose food upper lip. Due to its separation, the front teeth reach the surface of the earth, cutting small shoots. They have excellent charm, which helps in finding food. Not adapted to the cold, but perfectly tolerate the lack of water.

Features of the animal

Wombats are the largest and very ancient (more than 50 million years of existence) mammals. They are absolutely not afraid of people. They have practically no natural enemies except for the feral dingo. The animal perfectly copes with this threat with the help of a solid rear part of the body, which it uses as a shield, and, on occasion, can crush uninvited guests of its lair with it.

Wombat feces are in the form of cubes, this is due to the unusual type of structure of the anus. Every day the animal "creates" 80-100 cubes, which are carefully placed on the stones and trunks of fallen trees, marking the territory.

reproduction

Animals are breeding all year round, excluding dry regions where it occurs seasonally. In the bag of the female turned over on her back, in order to prevent clods of earth from entering when digging, six to eight months are contained little cub wombat. Only one individual is born in an animal, although there are two nipples in the bag. Over the next year, the baby is next to the female. Sexual maturity occurs after two years. Wombats live up to 15 years in captivity, life expectancy is longer.

Video: Funny Wombat - Wombat