One of the 3 hairy-nosed wombats on WAnimals
Mammals · Diprotodontia · Vombatidae
Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat
Lasiorhinus krefftii
It faces an extremely high risk of imminent extinction in the wild. See full glossary
The northern hairy-nosed wombat is one of the rarest mammals in the world. It is a heavily built burrowing marsupial, with a muzzle covered in fine hair and powerful claws with which it opens burrow systems tens of metres long. It is herbivorous and nocturnal, and its extremely slow metabolism lets it survive on very poor grasses. For decades the whole species was reduced to a single population in Epping Forest National Park, in Queensland; satellite colonies have now been established to spread the risk.
Weight
25 kg – 40 kg
Size
1 m – 1.2 m
Lifespan
25 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Colony
Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.
Sighting difficulty
Very hard
Estimated population
Some 300 individuals
Fun facts
- It produces cube-shaped droppings, an oddity explained by the uneven elasticity of the walls of its gut, which stops them rolling off when it leaves them on rocks and logs to mark territory.
- It came so close to the end that in the 1980s little more than thirty living animals were counted, all in a single park, and the whole species depended on there being no serious fire or drought.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Semi-arid grassland with deep sandy soils and scattered eucalypts, in Queensland
- Sexual maturity
- 19.3 months
- Gestation / incubation
- 21 days
- Litter / clutch size
- 1
Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat
Lasiorhinus latifrons
Least ConcernBare-nosed Wombat
Vombatus ursinus
Red Kangaroo
Osphranter rufus
Bilby
Macrotis lagotis
Western Gray Kangaroo
Macropus fuliginosus
Honey Possum
Tarsipes rostratus
How to help
The northern hairy-nosed wombat is classified as critically endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
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