Wombat

Wombats are nocturnal, solitary animals occurring in a wide variety of habitats throughout Australia. All wombats are protected as they are native Australian animals. Some species of wombat like the Southern hairy-nosed wombat are endangered in NSW. Wombats live in burrows that can be up to 30 metres long and they may share these with other wombats, though they are very territorial with their feeding grounds. Wombats usually stay in their burrows during the day and come out at night to feed. Although they can be seen out early in the morning and at dusk and will travel up to 3 kilometres a night looking for food.

Wombats can reproduce after they reach 2 years of age and normally breed between September and December. Wombats are marsupial mammals and the newborn wombat has to crawl from the birth canal into the mother’s pouch. The closest living relative to the Wombat is actually the Koala. Although they may not look physically similar, both species have backward-facing pouches. The pouch faces backwards, which protects the joey while the mother is digging. Young wombats will normally stay in the pouch for 7-10 months. Adults are about 1m (40 in) in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between 20-35 kg (44-77 lb) They can reach speeds of 40 km/h when threatened. Average lifespan of a wombat is 20 years.

Proceeds of the original artwork was donated to Wildlife Rescue South Coast

to support the rescue and rehabilitation of Native Australian Fauna