Wombat: To celebrate International Wombat Day

To celebrate International Wombat Day, here are six fun facts about wombats. There are three sub-species of Wombat – the common or bare-nosed wombat , the northern hairy-nosed wombat and the southern hairy-nosed wombat . They may not look like track and field athletes, but wombats can run at speeds of 40kph! We don’t know about you, but we certainly won’t be challenging any wombats to a foot race. They have cube-shaped poo! Yep, this is due to their lengthy digestive process (14-18 days ... Everything you should know about the Wombat . The Wombat is a short, stout, furry creature native to Australia and Tasmania. Image credit: shutterstock With coarse, thick hair, slightly rounded ears, and a large, naked nose, the bare-nosed wombat is a strong animal that is built close to the ground. The only living member of the genus Vombatus, the bare-nosed wombat is similar in appearance to two remaining wombat species, the southern and northern hairy-nosed wombats. Wombat is the common name for any of the stocky Australian marsupials comprising the family Vombatidae, characterized by short legs, very short tails, large head, and small ears. There are three extant species although the family was more diverse in the Pleistocene (Johnson 2004). The modern species are burrowing herbivores and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia and Tasmania. Wombats are valued components of the food chains in their Australia ...