Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat
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..Lasiorhinus Latifrons
"broad-headed hairy-nose"


this wombat is from the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, NSW

other name
Hairy-Nosed Wombat

DESCRIPTION

Head and body length - 772-934mm. Weight - 19-38kg. Stout head and body with short, powerful limbs. Differs from Vombatus ursinus (Common Wombat) by having softer, silky grey hair mottled with cream and black. Differs from Lasiorhinus krefftii (Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat) by having a longer snout and more rounded muzzle.

The Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat is considered common to limited throughout its range. Many consider it to be vulnerable. The wombat can be found in small isolated pockets of semi-arid land in South Australia and Western Australia. In SA there are only six areas populated by the wombat; all west of the Murray River. In WA they can be found in a small area in the south-east corner only. Being sedentary it has to cope with extreme local conditions and rarely has access to water and green shoots during summer. In this way it maximises intake of water and protein with its rodent-like incisor teeth and split lip which enables it to pick emerging shoots from around the base of perennial grasses. During the day the Southern Hairy-Nosed wombat rests in its burrow allowing its body temperature to fall which conserves both water and energy. The wombat emerges late in the evening when temperature is lower. Burrows are extensive are are connected by a network of trails which are scent marked with faeces and urine. Some burrows are owned by one wombat only, however wombats do mostly tend to share burrows. There are well defined dominance relationships among males, while females appear to be subordinate to all adult males. The highest level of interaction appears to be during the breeding season. In drought periods, ovulation and sperm formation may cease. During the breeding season males become quite aggressive toward one another, resulting in bites and scratches to ears and rump. Copulation occurs in the burrow with the male rolling the female onto her side and mounting from behind. Most births occur from late September to December and a single young remains on one of two teats, in the pouch, for six to nine months. At approximately one year the joey is weaned and at three years of age both sexes are mature. An increase to the population depends on a minimum of three years of effective rainfall, critical factors for the female to produce milk and for enough grass / energy requirement for juveniles.