Check out Australia Zoo’s Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat!

Don’t miss the bulldozers of the bush, right here at Australia Zoo! Our gorgeous southern hairy-nosed wombats can be spotted digging, grazing and exploring the sights, sounds and smells that the Zoo has to offer on their daily walks.

Southern hairy-nosed wombats are found throughout the semi-arid areas of South Australia and the southern parts of Western Australia. These animals are perfectly adapted for digging! They use their strong claws and jaws to dig through earth and tree roots in order to build their homes, which is an impressive underground burrowing system.

They have a tough, cartilage plate on their back, allowing them to block any would-be predators, such as dingoes and foxes, from entering their burrow. To ensure their pouch doesn’t fill up with dirt whilst burrowing, it is backwards facing. This pouch is used to raise their young, which are called joeys. A wombat joey is born weighing just 1 to 2 grams (0.03 to 0.07 ounces) and looks just like a pink jellybean. Crikey! Wombats are herbivorous and are often spotted during the night, foraging and grazing on grasses, shrubs and leaves and even tree bark during drought.

Sadly, habitat destruction and car strikes are threatening the fragmented populations that remain. They are listed as an endangered species and are truly in need of our support.