Maria Island - Wombat day

SPECIAL EDITION PAGE
There are wombats roaming all over Maria Island --- no cars are allowed on the island and visitors are highly encouraged to not touch/feed them, so the wombats live without fear.

So what's a wombat? Wiki-page summary:
Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials of the family Vombatidae that are native to Australia. Living species are about 1 m (40 in) in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between 20 and 35 kg (44 and 77 lb). They are adaptable and habitat tolerant and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland.

Because of settlement and agriculture, wombats in most areas have been pushed into the rugged hills and mountains. As long as they remain in these areas, wild dogs and collisions with cars are more of a threat to these marsupials than landowners. However, because of their habit of wandering down to the flats to enjoy the tasty morsels growing there (knocking down fences on the way), they are sometimes killed by farmers.

Wombats have also had to compete with introduced animals – such as cattle, sheep, and particularly rabbits – for food. This competition appears to have been a major factor in the decline of the northern hairy-nosed wombat in New South Wales.Weiterlesen