Vombatus ursinus
TAXONOMY
Didelphis ursina (Shaw, 1800), Tasmania, Australia.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
None known.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Head and body length 35–45 in (90–115 cm); tail length about 1 in (2.5 cm); height about 14.2 in (36 cm); weight 48.5–86 lb (22–39 kg). Coarse black or brown to gray coat; bare muzzle, short rounded ears.
DISTRIBUTION
Southeastern Australia including Flinders Island and Tasmania.
HABITAT
Temperate forests and woodlands, heaths, alpine habitats.
BEHAVIOR
Solitary, and mostly nocturnal. Burrows are dispersed, and usually simple. Each animal uses several burrows within its home range.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds mainly on grasses, but also sedges, rushes, and the roots of shrubs and trees.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
One offspring may be born at any time of the year. Pouch life is about six months, and the young remains at heel for about another year. Sexual maturity is at two years of age. Mating system is not known.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Range has declined by 10–50%, but the species is common throughout large parts of its original range. Vombatus vombatus ursinus has gone extinct from all Bass Strait islands except Flinders Island.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
In parts of Victoria, common wombats are considered pests because of the damage they do to rabbit-proof fences, and some local control is carried out.
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