What are the wombat's adaptive characteristics?

Answer 1

Wombats have a number of adaptations that allow them to live in a variety of Australian habitats from grasslands, to the bush, to mountain slopes. Their front legs are equipped with sharp claws for digging. This enables them to both forage for plants roots (one of their food sources), and dig burrows for shelter. The claws are strong enough to enable the wombat to dig in the toughest soil. The only surfaces they cannot dig in are solid rock and loose beach-like sand. They are nocturnal, sheltering in their burrows during the day.

Wombats are one of only a few species of marsupial that have a backward-facing pouch. This means that, when the mother wombat digs her burrow, dirt does not fly into the pouch and affect the young joey.

A wombat's teeth are unlike those of any other marsupial, but tend to be more like a rodent's, in that they grow continually throughout the animal's life. Because much of their diet is made up of tough grasses that wear heavily on the teeth, this continual growth ensures that wombats' teeth never wear away.

For defence, the wombat literally uses its backside. It has extra tough, thick skin on its lower back. Because a wombat's burrow is only just big enough for the wombat itself to fit into, in the event of a dog or dingo attack, it will turn around and present only that thicker hide to the aggressor, a hide that is difficult for a dingo's teeth to penetrate. In the absence of a wombat tail, there is nothing for a predator to grasp onto, either.

Answer 2

Wombats are a mostly nocturnal herbivorous marsupial mammal and live in burrows. They are the largest herbivorous burrowing animals in the world. They have a stout body, blunt head and broad paws with strong claws making it a powerful earth-mover, burrowing up to 2 metres a night. A typical burrow is about 50 cm high and 50 cm wide and can be up to 30 metres long with several chambers including nursery burrows. A wombat warns off intruders with an aggressive display of head shaking, gnashing teeth and a guttural growl. Burrows provide wombats with protection from predators, weather and bushfires. A predator following a wombat into its burrow can be crushed against the roof by the wombat's powerful rump, however, a wombat will abandon the burrow if a snake moves in. When wombats are resting in a burrow, their metabolism slows to two-thirds of normal to conserve water and energy.

Answer 3

Wombats have a number of special features that allow them to live in a variety of habitats from grasslands, to the bush, to mountain slopes.

• Their front legs are equipped with sharp claws for digging. This enables them to both forage for plants roots (one of their food sources), and dig burrows for shelter. The claws are strong enough to enable the wombat to dig in the toughest soil. The only surfaces they cannot dig in are solid rock and loose beach-like sand.
• They are nocturnal, sheltering in their burrows during the day.
• Wombats are one of only a few species of marsupial that have a backward-facing pouch. This means that, when the mother wombat digs her burrow, dirt does not fly into the pouch and affect the young joey.
• A wombat's teeth are unlike those of any other marsupial, but tend to be more like a rodent's, in that they grow continually throughout the animal's life. Because much of their diet is made up of tough grasses that wear heavily on the teeth, this continual growth ensures that wombats' teeth never wear away.
• For defence, the wombat literally uses its backside. It has extra tough, thick skin on its lower back. Because a wombat's burrow is only just big enough for the wombat itself to fit into, in the event of a dog or dingo attack, it will turn around and present only that thicker hide to the aggressor, a hide that is difficult for a dingo's teeth to penetrate. In the absence of a wombat tail, there is nothing for a predator to grasp onto, either.
• Wombats do not have acute eyesight, but they compensate for this by having an excellent sense of hearing and sense of smell. They can sense faint vibrations in the ground as well.

Answer 4

Wombats have a number of adaptations that allow them to live in a variety of habitats from grasslands, to the bush, to mountain slopes. Their front legs are equipped with sharp claws for digging. This enables them to both forage for plants roots (one of their food sources), and dig burrows for shelter. The claws are strong enough to enable the wombat to dig in the toughest soil. The only surfaces they cannot dig in are solid rock and loose beach-like sand. They are nocturnal, sheltering in their burrows during the day.

Wombats are one of only a few species of marsupial that have a backward-facing pouch. This means that, when the mother wombat digs her burrow, dirt does not fly into the pouch and affect the young joey.

A wombat's teeth are unlike those of any other marsupial, but tend to be more like a rodent's, in that they grow continually throughout the animal's life. Because much of their diet is made up of tough grasses that wear heavily on the teeth, this continual growth ensures that wombats' teeth never wear away.

For defence, the wombat literally uses its backside. It has extra tough, thick skin on its lower back. Because a wombat's burrow is only just big enough for the wombat itself to fit into, in the event of a dog or dingo attack, it will turn around and present only that thicker hide to the aggressor, a hide that is difficult for a dingo's teeth to penetrate. In the absence of a wombat tail, there is nothing for a predator to grasp onto, either.

Answer 5

Wallabies are marsupials. This means the female has a pouch in which she rears her young. The young joey is born undeveloped and makes its way to the mother's pouch where it latches onto a teat, which swells in its mouth, securing it in place.

Being a member of the kangaroo family, the wallaby has distinctive long hind feet and strong back legs. Wallabies have large, strong tendons in their hind legs which act as "springs". They have strong back legs and elongated hind feet for bounding. Wallabies are more agile on mountainsides and hillsides than larger kangaroos.

Wallabies have the ability to hear very well: they can twitch their ears independently around to determine the direction of specific sounds, much as a cat does.

They have long, strong tails for balancing.