Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats ( Lasiorhinus latifrons )

Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat ( Lasiorhinus latifrons )




Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat photographed at David Fleay's fauna sanctuary, Gold Coast, Australia.

Image by ozwildlife. Some rights reserved.



Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat photographed at David Fleay's fauna sanctuary, Gold Coast, Australia.

Image by ozwildlife. Some rights reserved.



wombat asleep in log

Image by ozwildlife. Some rights reserved.



Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat

Image by Tim Williams. Some rights reserved.



Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat

Image by Tim Williams. Some rights reserved.







MAMMAL FACTS


Description
The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat is a stout marsupial and can weigh up to 36 kg. They have a large, blunt head and a short, neck. Their sharp claws and stubby, powerful legs make them great diggers. Wombats can live for up to 27 years in captivity. The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat is native to South Australia. It has larger ears than the common wombat, and its snout is coated with fine hairs The rare and endangered Northern Hairy-nosed wombat is a similar species from Queensland.

Size
90cm to 120cm

Environment
dry, open country. Wombats live in burrows, preferring well-drained soils that are easy to dig in. The burrows can be up to 30m long, and several metres deep. Wombats spend most of the day in their burrow.

Food
native grasses such wallaby grass and kangaroo grass, sedges and roots of shrubs and trees. They cut their food with sharp front teeth which grow continuously

Breeding
Mating occurs between September and December, and usually results in one offspring. The newborn wombat, which weighs only 1 g and is less than 3 cm long crawls into the mother's pouch. This pouch faces backwards to stop dirt getting into it when mum is digging. The young wombat will stay in the pouch for between seven and 10 months.

Range
South Australia.

Conservation Status
The conservation status in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals is "critically endangered".

Classification
Class: Mammalia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Vombatidae
Genus: Lasiorhinus
Species: latifrons
Common Name: Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat