Check out Australia Zoo’s Common Wombat!

Don’t miss our wonderful wombats here at Australia Zoo. You’ll find them having the time of their lives in the largest zoo habitat for wombats in the world! They are often spotted digging, grazing, snoozing and exploring their home. During their daily walks, you can get up close and personal as they enjoy the sights, sounds and smells that the Zoo has to offer.

Wombats are a robust and powerful nocturnal marsupial! They are found throughout southeast Australia, including Tasmania. They have strong claws, nails and teeth for digging burrows and chewing through tree roots. They are herbivorous and spend the hours of darkness grazing on grasses, shrubs and leaves.

Because wombats are marsupials, they have a pouch for raising their young, called joeys.  Their pouch faces backwards to avoid it filling up with soil as they burrow! They have a strong cartilage plate on their rump which is used as the perfect defense tool. If approached by a predator whilst underground, the wombat will use that cartilage plate as a door, blocking the entrance to their burrow. In order to escape predators when above ground, wombats have the ability to run at speeds of 40 kilometres (25 miles) per hour!

Just when you thought they couldn’t get any cooler, they do square poos. Crikey! This is to mark their territory, ensuring it stays exactly where it lands and won’t roll away.

Wombats have adapted to live in a variety of environments from forests and shrublands to grassy plains. Wombats are great!