Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat

"Hi there, I'm a northern hairy- nosed wombat. My scientific name is Lasiorhinus krefftii, I am also known as Queensland Hairy-nosed Wombat, Yaminon, Barnard's Hairy-nosed Wombat, Moonie River Wombat or a Soft-furred Wombat."

Some Wombat Facts

• The northern hairy-nosed wombat is the largest herbivorous burrowing mammal in the world.
• The hairy-nosed wombat is a special sort of mammal, called a marsupial.
• Wombats are more closely related to the koala than to any other living marsupial.
• The scientific name is Lasiorhinus krefftii. Lasiorhinus means 'hairy rhinarium (nose)'. Krefftii is in honour of Johann Krefft who was Australia's first mammal palaeontologist.
• It is a nocturnal species, spending the day in a burrow and coming out at night to feed
• The northern hairy-nosed wombat prefers flat, semi-arid grassland with deep, sandy soils and open acacia and eucalypt woodland where there are patches of dense scrub and ground cover consisting of native grasses.
• Northern hairy-nosed wombats eat at least 12 species of grasses. They roam areas of about 6 hectares looking for and consuming these grasses. They need less water than almost every other species of mammal.
• Wombats have long front teeth for chewing. The wombat's teeth never stop growing, allowing it to grind its food even when old.
• The northern hairy-nosed wombat has a backwards-opening pouch to help stop dirt getting into the pouch when it digs its burrow.
• A new-born wombat is tiny. It crawls into the pouch and suckles on a teat for about six months and then for another six months shares its time between the pouch and the outside world.
• Wombats have poor eyesight but keen senses of smell and hearing.
• Wombats are very good at making burrows in which they live. They often lie on their side as they dig out their tunnels, their sharp claws are useful tools for all this digging. The northern hairy-nosed wombats build their burrows in groups, connected by tracks. Normally only one wombat lives in each burrow.

The species is critically endangered and many efforts are being undertaken to save it. The only remaining colony of northern hairy nosed wombats lives in Epping Forest National Park, north west of Clermont in central Queensland. There are only around a hundred individuals in this colony