Twelve wombat facts, fact-checked
Wombats are burrowing marsupials with several genuinely unique adaptations. Full profile in our wombat guide.
1. Cube-shaped droppings
The only animal known to produce them. Varying stiffness along the intestinal wall shapes the faeces into cubes.
2. Cubes do not roll away
Wombats stack droppings on rocks and logs as scent markers, and a cube stays where it is placed.
3. The pouch faces backwards
So digging does not fill it with soil — the same solution the koala uses.
4. The rump is armour
Reinforced with cartilage and thick skin. A wombat blocks its burrow entrance with it, and can crush a predator's skull against the roof.
5. Burrows are extensive
Systems reaching 30 m with multiple chambers and entrances.
6. Their burrows shelter other species
During bushfires, wombat burrows are used by many other animals, making wombats accidental refuge providers.
7. Teeth grow continuously
Abrasive grasses wear them down constantly, so growth never stops.
8. Their metabolism is very slow
Digestion can take up to 14 days, extracting maximum water and nutrition from poor forage.
9. They can run at 40 km/h
In short bursts, despite the stocky build.
10. Three species
The common wombat, the southern hairy-nosed wombat, and the Critically Endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat.
11. The northern hairy-nosed wombat nearly vanished
Reduced to a very small population in one Queensland location, now subject to intensive protection and translocation.
12. Mange is a serious threat
Sarcoptic mange, introduced with European animals, causes severe suffering and local population crashes, and treatment programmes are ongoing.
Read the full wombat wildlife guide for IUCN status, population context and sources — or donate to WARN to help fund the partner teams protecting wildlife on the ground.
