Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats extract most of the water they need from food they eat. They have the driest poo of all mammals.
As a herbivore, they eat mainly perennial grasses and graze on roots, mosses and bark when grasses are unavailable in semi-arid environments.
Due to over grazing and drought in the Murray Lands, Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats have adapted to eat other foods, such as the corm of weeds such as Thread Iris to survive.
Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats mark their territory, on the top of rocks and logs with dry, cube-shaped poo (scat). This does not easily roll off burrows and rocks. Scientists believe its square shaped because their effective digestive system contracts and extracts water and nutrients from its food. To find out more read this article.
If animal poo interests you, playMATCH THAT SCAT: and get a 'Crapologist' Certificate.
Watch this video and see how wombats socialise and have learned to drink water from puddles after the rain in Brookfield Conservation Park. When rain falls the calcrete layer is exposed, leaving puddles of water. Wombats and kangaroos know when this happens and go to puddles for a drink. ”Out of my way, that’s my puddle" ((Matt Gaughwin 2019)
Watch interviews with the Vet at Cleland Wildlife Park and the President of Wombats SA
Read this great comic by OATMEAL about cool wombat facts
