Hello again, welcome back to animals under threat. Today, we will be covering one of the three species of wombat from Australia. Belonging to the family Vombatidae (wombats), this wombat is the largest of the three species and is lesser known of the wombats. Say hello to the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii).
As stated in the introduction, the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat is the largest of the wombat species that can measure up to a meter long and can weigh up to 32-40kg. They are characterized by their wide muzzle, longer/pointer ears and has softer fur than the other wombats. Despite there large size, this wombat can reach a speed of 40km/h, but only over short distances (australiangeographic.com, 2020).
Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat prefer savanna and open eucalypt woodlands along inland river systems as they feed on a wide variety of native/introduced grasses. They only eat the leaves instead of the stem as it provides the wombat with good nutrition. They feed for at least six hours in winter and two hours and summer compared to Eastern grey Kangaroo that must feed for 18 hours a day. This is because of their burrows have a cool, humid temperature which helps conserve the wombat’s energy. Female wombats reach sexual maturity at 2.5 years old while males take 3 years to sexually mature. Most baby wombats are born in summer and stay in their mother’s pouch for 8/9 months (environment.des.qld.gov.au, 2020).
Originally thought to be extinct in the early 20th century, a small population was found in Epping Forest National Park in Central Queensland. Currently the population size is estimated around 160-200 individuals (theconversation.com, 2020). Classed as critically endangered by the IUCN, the major threats to the wombat are agricultural development, droughts, invasive species, and fire/fire suppression. Agricultural development for livestock destroys the grass the wombat feeds on and decreases the available land for wombats to burrow. Droughts and fire management also destroys the grasses the wombat feeds on and affect the availability on water the wombat can access. Invasive species destroy/remove wombats from their burrows and attack wombats that is leading to increase risk in inbreeding due to lack of genetic diversity (Taggart et al, 2016).
Next time, we will be covering a species of mustelid from Europe.References
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2015/09/northern-hairy-nosed-wombat/
https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-northern-hairy-nosed-wombat-13148
Taggart, D., Martin, R. & Horsup, A. 2016.
Lasiorhinus krefftii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016:
e.T11343A21959050.
