Animal Wombat: Cute marsupial mammal (photo). The wombat is an animal of the marsupial family. Description, lifestyle, habitat of the Wombat at home

Few people have heard about the wombat, a marsupial animal that looks like a koala bear. But, unlike the latter, wombats do not prefer to live in trees, but simply, with fanatical desire, dig holes in which they hide from predators and people. The passages in the ground are very long, branched, up to 20 meters long and up to 3 meters deep with many entrances. By digging under fences, they harm local farmers, which is why animals are poisoned, and as a result, there is one more entry in the Red Book.

Australian wombat

Description of the wombat

Due to their constant digging, they have very strong and short front legs with powerful claws. The fur is very thick, warm, brown in color, less often gray or black. Although they belong to the marsupials, they grow two front incisors throughout their lives, like those of a cat, which are necessary for obtaining food.

Characteristics of a wombat:

Length – up to 1.2 meters;
Weight – up to 35 kg;
Life expectancy in captivity is up to 25 years.

Adult wombat

Although the animal is considered stupid, which is why they are practically untamed, they radically change social relations outside and in burrows. On the surface of the earth, the male will behave aggressively with strangers, defending his possessions, and underground, if the passages accidentally intersect, but the animals will never start a fight.

When frightened, an animal can even surprise you with its agility! A wombat can climb a tree, dive into water, and run at speeds of up to 60 km/h!

But it’s better not to tempt fate, as they are unpredictable, and if there is danger, the beast will attack.

Buying a marsupial

This is a very rare animal, and to buy it, you may have to travel halfway across the country, waiting for your turn for a month or two. Officially, the export of animals from Australia is prohibited, and only a large zoo can purchase them. Of course, don’t even try to look for ads on Avito, they don’t sell wombats by hand, it would be a scam.

Baby wombat and its mother

Carefully examine the cub to ensure there are no injuries to the skin;
Eyes and ears are clean;
Not painful looking.

It’s hard to say about activity and smell; you’ll have to trust the breeder. If possible, look at the wombat’s parents, the living conditions, and how pleasant the breeder is to communicate with.

The price of the animal is also not clearly defined, but varies within 50,000 rubles.

Apartment life

It was already mentioned above that wombats are practically untamable. Firstly, they are very stupid, it is useless to try to accustom them to a nickname, they will not respond anyway. There is not even any talk about basic training and commands. Secondly, although accidentally, they will damage furniture and floors with their clawed paws. They show aggression only when necessary; in normal situations they are kind and calm, but they can still injure a person, not on purpose. Therefore, families with children and elderly people should not have them.

Happy wombat

Wombats are indifferent to “bodily affection” from humans. It’s not that they don’t like to be petted, but they don’t show much enthusiasm like cats. They also do not require any care, the only thing is to let them eat and dig in the ground. Ideal conditions- a dacha, a garden plot, in general not a home apartment.

Nutrition

The wombat feeds on roots, young shoots, berries, moss and mushrooms. In a word - herbivore. Their whole life comes down to searching for food, defending territory, and digging canals.

In search of food

It is noteworthy that wombats use energy very sparingly and can only eat a couple of times a month. They also require very little water. The arid climate of Australia dictates its own rules of survival.

And remember - we are responsible for those we have tamed!

Classification

View: Wombat Vombatidae

Squad: Two-incisor marsupials

Highest classification: Vombatiformes

Domain: Eukaryotes

Kingdom: Animals

Type: Chordata

Class: Mammals

The wombat is a herbivorous representative of the Australian fauna that is active at night.

This is a marsupial that has virtually no natural enemies.

Externally, the animal resembles a small bear cub

The wombat, like , and , digs holes, and its food source is vegetation.

He looks quite cute and seems harmless, but as soon as he senses danger, he immediately becomes aggressive.

Nature has endowed this animal with acute hearing and poor eyesight. The cold climate is destructive for it and prolonged stay in such conditions can provoke serious illnesses.

Habitat

Australia and Tasmania are the main places where the wombat lives. It lives in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.

Its habitat is forests, fields and mountains. The wombat needs land in which it constantly digs holes - it lives there and marks its territory.

The wombat will always protect its inhabited spaces, scaring away the “uninvited guest” with a menacing moo. Often this is enough for him to leave, but if necessary, the wombat will enter into battle

Previously, all of Australia was inhabited by wombats, but due to the active destruction of rodents, their population has decreased significantly.

And today these marsupials can only be found in the southern part of the continent.

Characteristic

Because of its short legs, the wombat looks like a small, stocky bear. But in fact, he is a “relative” of the kangaroo.

Its body looks massive and thick, and thanks to its large head, the first Australian settlers called the wombat a badger.

Today, three species of these marsupial mammals are known:

common Vombatus ursinus;
broad-browed;
Woolly-nosed Krefta, or northern.

Representatives of the last two species have another name - long-haired.

Albino wombats also exist, but they are extremely rare.

Important! Human agricultural activities have caused irreparable damage to the wombat population.

Appearance

The body length of an adult animal ranges from 70-130 cm. Its weight can be 20-45 kg. The body looks compact, the legs are short, but very strong.

There are five toes on each foot, four of which have sharp claws - with their help both the long-haired and the common wombat dig their tunnels.

There are two small eyes on the large head. The tail is thin and not too long.

Interesting! Among extinct species, for example, Phascolonus gigas, there were individuals whose weight could reach 200 kg!

In terms of the structure of its jaws, the wombat is similar to rodents. It has four front cutting teeth - two each on top and bottom, and simple chewing teeth, with no corner teeth.

This mammal has a total of 12 teeth - the smallest among marsupials.

The common wombat has a completely bare nose, short and rounded ears, and gray-brown fur that is very short and hard to the touch.

Representatives of the other two species - northern and broad-fronted - have hairy noses, much larger ears and soft fur.

The largest among the others is the wombat, which belongs to the broad-fronted species, which can be seen in the next photo. His characteristic features are pointed ears and a flat forehead.

Broad-faced wombat wearing a gray “fur coat”

Key Features

The wombat lives mainly underground in a hole that it dug itself. With the help of its long sharp claws, this animal is capable of building both small caves and real tunnel systems. The length of the latter can reach 20 m, and the depth - 3.5 m. At the intersection of underground systems, separate caves are formed, in which different time different “families” of these stunning animals can live.
These mammals rest in their shelters during daylight hours. At night they are active and come out of their burrows to find food. But in winter, the northern wombat can also be found during the day, which is clearly demonstrated in the next photo.

In cold weather, the northern wombat can come out of its burrow to bask in the sun's rays

Adults have virtually no natural enemies. They can be hunted by wild dingoes and Tasmanian devils, whose habitat is also Australia. But they significantly undermine the number of wombats and prevent them from raising their offspring.
This animal repels the attacks of an attacker in a very strange way - it exposes the back of its back from the hole. This is due to the fact that they have a kind of shield on their pelvic bones. If the enemy penetrates the hole, the wombat peacefully moves aside, luring him deeper, and then attacks and strangles him with his rear shield.
During a fight, both long-haired and common wombats butt heads, delivering powerful head blows. But before they engage in combat, they warn the enemy by shaking their heads from side to side and mooing threateningly.
The constant presence of a source of water in places where the wombat lives is not a prerequisite for existence. He lives completely calmly for a long time without liquid, and if he drinks it, it’s very little.

Interesting! The wombat ranks second in terms of water conservation after the camel. For one kilogram of body weight per day, only 22 ml of liquid is enough for him!

The area of territory where this representative of the fauna lives will depend on external conditions and can be about 5-25 hectares. They mark their “possessions” not only with dug holes, but also with excrement.
Their anus has a special structure, due to which the feces are shaped like cubes.

The food source for wombats is vegetation. They consume grass shoots, roots of some plants, and can feed on moss, as well as berries and mushrooms.

And they identify edible vegetation using the upper lip, divided into two parts.

Large front teeth protrude from under it, with which animals easily cut off young shoots to the very root.

Thanks to a well-developed sense of smell, these representatives of the fauna have excellent orientation even at night.

Wombats find food without much difficulty, even despite poor eyesight

Interesting! Wombats have a slow but very efficient metabolism. After saturation, the animal’s body needs about 2 weeks to digest the incoming food!

Reproduction

The breeding season begins in May and lasts until August. No more than three weeks are given to bear the baby.

The female has two nipples, but during one pregnancy she is able to give birth to only one “heir”, who, after birth, remains under her care for a fairly long period of time.

This animal has a pouch on its abdomen that is turned backwards.

This arrangement helps the wombats dig their trenches unhindered even while the baby is in this pouch. The male reaches sexual maturity in the second year of his life, the female only in the third.

The cub spends about 9 months in its mother's pouch.

The wombat reproduces almost throughout the entire territory where it lives, with the exception of particularly arid zones.

In such regions, this animal is able to produce offspring only at certain times of the year.

In conditions wildlife Both the common and northern wombat live on average about 15 years. In captivity, their life expectancy can reach a quarter of a century.

On a note! There is information about a long-lived wombat who died after reaching 34 years of age. But there is also a living marsupial mammal nicknamed Patrick, which is located in Ballarta Park - its age today is 29 years old!

Australia is famous for its huge number of zoological parks and tourist centers, where wombats live in captivity and reproduce quite actively.

These animals are incredibly popular, despite the fact that they are very difficult to tame.

But the park workers were able to find a common language with these cute creatures, and after much persuasion, they still come out of their hiding places for everyone to see and even allow themselves to be stroked, as can be seen in the next photo.

The baby wombat behaves quite friendly and calm

But you should always remember about their far from meek disposition, which can manifest itself at any moment.

As soon as an animal senses danger, it can immediately attack a person and scratch him with its long, strong claws.

If the wombat is not provoked, it will not show signs of aggression. But at the same time, his behavior can also be affected by a bad mood.

Being strong and sturdy, possessing remarkable weight, powerful jaws and sharp teeth, an angry wombat will leave deep wounds if a person does not disappear from his field of vision in time.

In addition, when angry, these representatives of the fauna are capable of completely destroying the vegetation that will be located in the area.

He will zealously dig up the entire area until not a single sprout remains on it.

These characteristics make the wombat not the best pet. He is unpredictable, excessively timid and therefore poses a serious danger to humans.

And even if the threat is not real, a frightened animal can attack an imaginary enemy.

In addition, they cannot be called smart and sometimes their actions are at odds with a seemingly good mood.

So that such an exotic animal as a wombat could lay claim to the role of pet, first of all you should arrange a place for it.

And, as some owners of these marsupials say, over time they get used to the situation, especially if it is possible to dig trenches without hindrance.

A house or apartment is not suitable for keeping them, since there is not enough space for a wombat and he will have nowhere to hide.

In this regard, floor coverings and walls will certainly be seriously damaged or become completely unusable.

A suitable place for a wombat is a garden plot with a large territory.

At the same time, it is important to remember about the climatic zone of residence, since these animals tolerate cold very poorly - under such conditions they will often get sick.

In regions characterized by a variable climate, special places are created for these animals where the pet can wait out the cold months or several days of inclement weather

The baby next to a calm mother will feel quite comfortable and develop well.

Animal Wombat: Cute marsupial mammal

The wombat is a herbivorous representative of the Australian fauna that is active at night. This is a marsupial animal that has practically no natural enemies.

Wombats have lived on Earth for 18 million years and today are found only in Australia. They are the largest of the earth-moving mammals, the family of which includes three species: Lasiorhunus latifrons (long-haired), Vombatus ursinus (short-haired) and Lasiorhunus krefftii (Queensland).

Appearance and lifestyle

An adult wombat is the size of a small bear cub (body length is 0.7 - 1.2 m, and weight is from 20 to 40 kg). These animals are endowed with an incredibly attractive appearance: a plump body covered with thick, coarse hair, short clubbed legs and round button eyes make it irresistible.

Nature has endowed this marsupial with an excellent entrenching tool: its paws have large, strong claws that are convenient for digging the ground. That's why most The wombat spends days underground, coming to the surface for several hours to eat and sunbathe. The animal’s housing is a “multi-room” burrow-apartment, connected by underground passages.

This is interesting: There is a legend that Australian copper deposits were discovered thanks to wombats - people discovered pieces of metal near these animal burrows. Apparently, as a sign of gratitude, the residents of South Wales named one of the villages Wombat, and astronomers gave this name to the Main Belt asteroid.

The corridor tunnels dug by wombats reach 20 m in length and 3.5 m in depth, and the area they occupy can be up to 25 hectares. These representatives of marsupials do not live in flocks, but the burrows of neighboring families are usually located close to each other. Often passages belonging to different families intersect, then the animals use them together.

The wombat is a very slow animal by nature, but in a critical situation it is able to run at the speed of a car - up to 60 km/h, and can swim and climb trees. But in case of danger, he usually hurries to the hole, hides the upper part of his body in it, “plugging” the entrance with a thick loin. And if the enemy nevertheless penetrates the hole, the owner of the home is able to simply strangle him, pressing him against the wall with his powerful, hard butt. Actually, the wombat has practically no natural enemies, with the exception of all thunderstorms marsupials of Australia- dingo dogs.

Vombatus is a herbivore; it feeds on grass, plant roots, berries, and mushrooms. It has few teeth, only 12, but the divided upper lip allows it to “cut” grass almost at ground level. Wombats have a very efficient and therefore slow metabolism. It takes them almost 2 weeks to digest food. This animal drinks very little water, only 22 ml per kilogram of weight per day, second only to the camel in terms of economy.

Interesting fact: The wombat has a very unusual structure digestive tract. In its intestine there are horizontal folds and grooves, so feces are formed in the form of cubes; per day this earth-moving marsupial produces from 80 to 100 dry compact “bricks”. Cube poop does not roll off the surface of a stone or log, which allows the animal to use it as a means of marking territory.

Raising offspring

The average lifespan of Vombatus is 15-18 years, it reaches sexual maturity by 3 years. The female carries the pregnancy for a little less than a month, resulting in the birth of one, or less often, two cubs weighing about 0.5 kg.

The offspring spends more than six months in the mother's pouch, where they are provided with warmth, food and protection. The wombat's pouch has two nipples, and the entrance hole is turned backwards. This gives the mother the opportunity to do excavation work when her offspring is “staying at home.”

After the cub has grown up and is able to eat on its own, it moves into a hole, where the mother brings grass and roots for it, having previously crushed them with her teeth. The period of raising the offspring lasts about a year, then the young wombat goes to “free bread”.

Domestication and captivity

Wombats are peaceful and only show aggression in situations that they consider dangerous. Australians often keep these marsupials as pets. Tame animals become attached to the owner and accompany him like devoted little dogs. A city apartment is not suitable for keeping them, best place habitat there will be a vast garden area where you can dig holes and shelters.

Amusing features of the wombat: Domestic wombats often become lovers of foods that are not available to them under natural conditions. The English naturalist Charles Cornish in his book “The Animal World” described real story, like a wombat addicted to milk, he constantly looked for the coveted drink in the house, drank as much as he could, and took a bath with the leftovers.

Vombatus are prohibited from being exported from Australia. They can be purchased, having received special permission, only by a reputable zoo in which the animal will be guaranteed proper living conditions. In its homeland, an adult wombat can be bought for $500÷1000.

More funny wombats in our photo gallery.

An inhabitant of the Australian open spaces, the wombat is an animal that immediately attracts attention with its incredibly mobile emotional muzzle and appearance, reminiscent of a bear cub.

This representative of the family of two-incisor marsupials appeared on Earth almost 18 million years ago and has lived to this day, practically without undergoing any radical changes. Let's find out details about the existence of these unique herbivores.

Wombat: photo. Animal and its features

Wombats, which live in the south and east of Australia, are found in many states of the continent where there is land suitable for digging burrows. marsupial bears - koalas, these animals are very similar to them, but their evolutionary lines diverged, according to scientists, long before the appearance of the species known today.

These cute “bear cubs” reach a length of 0.7 to 1.2 m and weigh from 20 to 40 kg. Nature thoughtfully designed their compact body, providing them with short and strong flat limbs ending in five fingers topped with strong claws adapted for digging holes. The description is complemented by a short, undeveloped tail, an impressive head that gives the impression of being slightly flattened on the sides, and small eyes.

Kinds

The uniqueness of these animals is emphasized by the small number of their species. The wombat is an Australian animal found nowhere else in the world. There are only four species of this marsupial:

Ordinary or large. The main features are coarse hair, rounded short ears and lack of hair on a small area of the muzzle. The jaws and teeth of this species are similar in structure to rodents. In the center of the upper and lower rows there is a pair of classic long incisors.

Tasmanian. The species is the most heat-loving and rare, although it used to be very common. Found in Tasmania and Flinders Island.
Broad-browed. Also rare view, distributed only in South Australia. Exterminated due to its soft, silky fur.
The Lesser Wombat is a species native to Queensland.

Lifestyle

The marsupial wombat is the largest of the burrowing mammals that spend a significant part of its life underground. Perhaps it was this way of life that allowed this unique population to be preserved to this day.

With strong and sharp claws, they are able to dig complex passages, small caves and tunnels in the ground. The burrows that the wombat digs are similar to those of a badger: ornate corridors of varying lengths (from 3 to 30 meters) lead to a room used by the wombat as a home. There he makes a cozy nest for himself.

The wombat is a nocturnal animal. Activity increases with the onset of night, when he begins to search for food, moving quite quickly. Sometimes these amazing “Australians” reach high speeds - up to 40 km/h, although only over short distances. It is difficult to see them during the day because they rest in their caves.

What do "little bears" eat?

The wombat is a gourmet animal. He is picky and looks for young tender shoots of grasses, sweet roots of some plants, and the upper lip, divided into two parts, allows wombats to choose exactly the food they like, since the animal’s front teeth can freely reach the smallest sprout or root. Wombats' sense of smell plays an important role in finding food.

These unique animals have the same incredible yet efficient metabolism. Digestion of food in a wombat lasts 14 days.

And in terms of water consumption, these “Australians” are the leaders among mammals after the camel: for the normal functioning of the body, on average, 0.5-0.7 liters of water per kg of body weight per day is enough for them.

Wombat enemies and methods of protection

The Australian “bear cub” has practically no natural enemies in nature. The main opponents can be considered dingoes and Tasmanian devils. Nature took care of the wombat's protection by creating a kind of shell from the back, inventing an unusual combination of bones and cartilage, covered with extremely hard skin. Sensing danger, they turn around backwards, blocking the entrance to the hole, and successfully repel the attacks of the attackers. If an uninvited guest climbs into a hole, the wombat skillfully drives him into a corner and tries to strangle him using the same protective “device.”

He is capable of striking with his head, acting like a goat, which also leads to the escape or death of the victim.

Reproduction

Wombats do not have distinct periods for reproduction. This process can happen at any time and anywhere. The wombat is a monogamous animal. The mother touchingly takes care of the cub and does not leave worries about him until he reaches puberty - the age of two. The offspring stays in the mother's pouch for up to 6-8 months, and when released into the world, they remain next to the mother for more than a year. The lifespan of this interesting animal in nature reaches 15 years, and individuals in captivity can live up to 25.

It must be said that for Australians, the wombat (photo) is almost a domestic animal, since it often lives next to people, coming to them for various reasons, sometimes tragic.

Wombats, or wombats (Vombatidae) are representatives of the family of marsupial mammals, which belong to the order of two-incisors, living mainly in Australia. All wombats are burrowing, completely herbivorous animals, resembling very miniature bears or fairly large hamsters in appearance.

Description of the wombat

Mammals from the order Two-incisor marsupials and the Wombat family lived on our planet more than ten million years ago, which directly indicates the unusual originality and uniqueness of such an animal. Many species of wombats have already disappeared, so at present, only two genera of the wombat family are representatives of the modern fauna: the short-haired wombat and the long-haired or Queensland wombat.

Appearance

Wombats are typical representatives of herbivorous mammals. The average weight of an adult animal is 20-40 kg with a length ranging from 70-120 cm. The wombat has a fairly dense and compact build, has a small body, a large head and four well-developed, powerful limbs. Wombats are characterized by the presence of a small tail, which is considered to be undeveloped. The coat of such a mammal is gray or ashen in color.

This is interesting! The back part of the herbivore is built in a special way - it is here that there is a significant amount of bones and cartilage, covered with very hard skin, which serves the wombat as a kind of protective shield.

When there is a threat of natural enemies entering the hole of such an unusual animal, wombats, as a rule, expose their back parts and thus protect or block the passage to their home. Due to its impressive size, the rear part can also be used as a weapon to crush the enemy. Despite their short legs, wombats reach speeds of up to 40 km/h when moving, and are also able to climb a tree and even swim quite well.

The head area of such funny and compact “bears” also attracts attention.. The head is very large compared to the size of the body, but slightly flattened, with beady eyes on the sides. In case of real danger, a wombat is capable of not only defending itself, but also quite effectively attacking with its head, using characteristic goring movements for this purpose.

The jaws, as well as the teeth of a mammal, in their structure and appearance are very similar to the primary food processing organs of rodents. Among other marsupials, wombats have the fewest teeth: the upper and lower rows are characterized by the presence of a pair of cutting-type front teeth, as well as chewing teeth. At the same time, the animal completely lacks traditional angular teeth.

This is interesting! Wombats are rightfully famous for their art of digging, and can easily create entire underground labyrinths. It is for this reason that wombats are often called the most talented and largest diggers.

The wombat's limbs are very strong and muscular, quite strong, having claws that are located on all five toes of each paw. A well-developed skeleton of the limbs plays a very important role in the life of a mammal. Using their paws, adult miniature “bears” are able to dig comfortable and spacious holes. The tunnels they dig often reach a length of 18-20 meters and a width of 2.5-3.0 meters. Representatives of the order Two-incisor marsupials and the Wombat family deftly build unique underground “palaces” in which entire families live.

Wombat lifestyle

Wombats are predominantly underground and night image life, therefore the main condition when choosing a habitat is the presence of dry soil in the complete absence of too large stones, groundwater and tree roots. The wombat spends a significant part of the day inside its burrow. Rest and sleep are carried out during the day, and when darkness sets in, the mammal goes upstairs, warms up or refreshes itself.

All representatives of wombats prefer to live quite in large groups, so the territory for their livelihoods occupies a very impressive size. The boundaries of its territory, which can be several tens of hectares, are marked with peculiar square excrement of the animal. By their nature, wombats are friendly and have absolutely no fear of humans, which is why they are often kept as exotic pets.

Lifespan

As perennials show Scientific research and naturalistic observations, average duration wombat's life natural conditions does not exceed fifteen years. In captivity, a mammal can live for almost a quarter of a century, but the duration depends on the conditions of detention and the characteristics of the diet.

Types of wombats

There are currently three members of the family modern looking, which are combined into two types:

Genus Lasiorhinus. Long-haired, or woolly-nosed, or hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus) are animals from the genus of marsupial mammals. A fairly large animal with a body length of 77-100 cm, a tail length of 25-60 mm and a weight of 19-32 kg. The fur is soft and long, brown-gray on the back, and white on the chest and cheeks. The ears are small and triangular in shape;
Genus Vombatus. Short-haired, or bare-nosed, or Tasmanian wombats (Vombatus ursinus) are animals belonging to the species of marsupial mammals. The only modern representative of the genus of bare-nosed wombats.

This is interesting! The closest relatives of the representatives of wombats included Diprotodon, but this simply gigantic representative of marsupials died out about forty thousand years ago.

Today, just over a hundred individuals remain of the Queensland wombat population, which are kept in a small reserve in Queensland. The broad-browed wombat from the genus Lasiоrinus is about a meter long, has light gray skin and original, pointed ears.

Range, habitats

The ancestors of wombats were small in size, settled in trees, and moved from one branch to another using long tails, like all monkeys, or hooked onto the stem part of plants using thumbs on the paws. This feature affected the range and habitats of the modern mammal.

The least studied Australian marsupials, the long-haired or woolly-nosed wombat, are found in south-eastern South Australia and western Victoria, as well as south-western New South Wales and southern and central Queensland. There are three known subspecies of the genus Vombatus or short-haired wombats: Vombatus ursinus hirsutus, which lives in Australia, Vombatus ursinus tasmaniensis, which lives in Tasmania, and Vombatus ursinus ursinus, which inhabits only Flinders Island.

Wombat diet

Wombats very readily eat young grass shoots. Sometimes mammals also eat plant roots and mosses, berries and mushrooms. Thanks to such an anatomical feature as the division of the upper lip, wombats are able to very accurately and competently select their diet.

This is interesting! The animal's front teeth can reach directly to ground level, which is very convenient for cutting even the smallest green shoots. A well-developed sense of smell also plays an important role when choosing food at night.

It should be noted that representatives of wombats are characterized by slow, but at the same time very effective metabolic processes. It takes about two weeks for a mammal to fully digest all the food it eats. In addition, wombats are by far the most economical consumers of water of all mammals currently living on our planet (after the camel, of course). An adult animal needs about 20-22 ml of water per day for every kilogram of body weight. However, wombats have a hard time withstanding the cold.