Wombats[1] Temporal range: Pleistocene to Recent
Common Wombat, Maria Island, Tasmania
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Marsupialia
Order:	Diprotodontia
Suborder:	Vombatiformes
Family:	Vombatidae Burnett, 1829
Genera and Species
Vombatus Vombatus ursinus Lasiorhinus Lasiorhinus latifrons Lasiorhinus krefftii †Rhizophascolomus †Phascolonus †Warendja †Ramasayia

Wombats, Australian marsupials, are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately 1 metre (40 in) in length with a short, stubby tail. They are adaptable in habitat tolerance, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as an isolated patch of about 300 hectares (740 acres) in Epping Forest National Park^[2] in central Queensland.

Characteristics[link]

Wombat in Narawntapu National Park, Tasmania

Wombats dig extensive burrow systems with rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. One distinctive adaptation of wombats is their backwards pouch. The advantage of a backwards-facing pouch is that when digging, the wombat does not gather dirt in its pouch over its young. Although mainly crepuscular and nocturnal, wombats also venture out to feed on cool or overcast days. They are not commonly seen, but leave ample evidence of their passage, treating fences as minor inconveniences to be gone through or under, and leaving distinctive cubic faeces.

Wombats are herbivores; their diet consists mostly of grasses, sedges, herbs, bark and roots. Their incisor teeth somewhat resemble those of the placental rodents (rats, mice, moles, etc.), being adapted for gnawing tough vegetation. Like many other herbivorous mammals, they have a large diastema between the incisors and the cheek teeth, which are relatively simple. The dental formula of wombats is Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \tfrac{ 1.0.1.4}{ 1.0.1.4}

Wombats' fur colour can vary from a sandy colour to brown, or from grey to black. All three known extant species of wombats average around a metre in length and weigh between 20 and 35 kg (44 and 77 lb).

Female wombats give birth to a single young in the spring, after a gestation period, which like all marsupials can vary, in the case of the wombat: 20–21 days.^[3][4] They have a well-developed pouch, which the young leave after about 6–7 months. Wombats are weaned after 15 months, and are sexually mature at 18 months.^[5]

Ecology and behaviour[link]

Dentition, as illustrated in Knight's Sketches in Natural History

Wombat burrow and scat, Narawntapu National Park, Tasmania

Wombat scat, found near Cradle Mountain in Tasmania

Wombats have an extraordinarily slow metabolism, taking around 8 to 14 days to complete digestion, which aids their survival in arid conditions.^[5] They generally move slowly.^{[citation needed]} When threatened, however, they can reach up to 40 km/h (25 mph) and maintain that speed for up to 90 seconds.^[6] Wombats defend home territories centred on their burrows, and they react aggressively to intruders. The common wombat occupies a range of up to 23 ha (57 acres), while the hairy-nosed species have much smaller ranges, of no more than 4 ha (10 acres).^[5]

Dingos and Tasmanian Devils prey on wombats. The wombat's primary defence is its toughened rear hide with most of the posterior made of cartilage. This, combined with its lack of a meaningful tail, makes it difficult for any predator that follows the wombat into its tunnel to bite and injure its target. When attacked, wombats dive into a nearby tunnel, using their rump to block a pursuing attacker.^[7] Wombats may allow an intruder to force its head over their back and then use their powerful legs to crush the skull of the predator against the roof of the tunnel, or drive it off with two-legged 'donkey' kicks.

Humans who accidentally find themselves in an affray with a wombat may find it best to scale a tree until the animal calms and leaves. Humans can receive puncture wounds from wombat claws as well as bites. Startled wombats can also charge humans and bowl them over,^[8] with the attendant risks of broken bones from the fall. One naturalist, Harry Frauca, once received a bite 2 cm (0.8 in) deep into the flesh of his leg—through a rubber boot, trousers and thick woollen socks (Underhill, 1993). A UK newspaper, The Independent reported that on 6 April 2010 a 59-year-old man from rural Victoria state was mauled by a wombat (thought to have been angered by mange)^[9] causing a number of cuts and bite marks requiring hospital treatment. He resorted to killing it with an axe.^[10]

Species[link]

There are three living species of wombat,^[1] all of which reside only in Australia. They are protected under Australian law.^[6]

• Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)
• Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat or Yaminon (Lasiorhinus krefftii)^[11]
• Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons)

Name[link]

The name wombat comes from the now nearly extinct Darug language spoken by the Aboriginal Darug people who originally inhabited the Sydney area.^[12] It was first recorded in January 1798 when John Price and James Wilson, a white man who had adopted Aboriginal ways, visited the area of what is now Bargo, New South Wales. Price wrote: "We saw several sorts of dung of different animals, one of which Wilson called a Whom-batt, which is an animal about 20 inches high, with short legs and a thick body with a large head, round ears, and very small eyes; is very fat, and has much the appearance of a badger."^[13] Wombats were often called badgers by early settlers because of their size and habit. Because of this, localities such as Badger Creek, Victoria and Badger Corner, Tasmania were named after the wombat.^[14] The spelling went through many variants over the years including "wambat", "whombat", "womat", "wombach" and "womback", possibly reflecting dialectal differences in the Darug language.^[12]

Conservation[link]

The northern hairy-nosed wombat is an endangered species.^[15] The biggest threats the species faces are its small population size, predation by wild dogs, competition for food because of overgrazing by cattle and sheep, and disease. ^[15][16]

The only known wild populations of this species exist in two locations in Queensland, the Epping Forrest National Park, and a smaller colony being established by translocating wombats to the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge at Yarran Downs.^[15] This second colony is being created through the Xstrata reintroduction project which is being funded by Xstrata, a Swiss global mining company.^[14]

The wombat population in the Epping Forrest National Park has been increasing since a predator-proof fence was erected in the park.^[15] According to the latest census, taken in 2007, the park is home to 138 of these endangered wombats.^[15]

Wombat Day[link]

Since 2005 there has been an unofficial holiday called Wombat Day observed on 22 October, at the beginning of the traditional aboriginal spring planting season.^[17]

References[link]

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Wombats, Barbara Triggs, Houghton Mifflin Australia Pty, 1990, ISBN 0-86770-114-5. Facts and photographs of wombats for children.
• The Wombat: Common Wombats in Australia, Barbara Triggs, University of New South Wales Press, 1996, ISBN 0-86840-263-X.
• The Secret Life of Wombats, James Woodford, Text Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1-877008-43-5.
• How to Attract the Wombat, Will Cuppy with illustrations by Ed Nofziger, David R. Godiine, 2002, ISBN 1-56792-156-6 (Originally published 1949, Rhinehart)
• The Secret World of Wombats, Jackie French with illustrations by Bruce Whatley, HarperCollins Publishers, 2005, ISBN 0-207-20031-9.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vombatidae

• South Australian Government Faunal Emblem (official website)
• Rossetti's Wombat: A Pre-Raphaelite Obsession in Victorian England
• Sydney Morning Herald: Man attacked by wombat
• Secret sex life of wombat

The Wombats
The Wombats pictured at a 1927 gig
Background information
Origin	Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Indie rock, post punk, [Pop Punk]
Years active	2003–present
Labels	14th Floor Records Bright Antenna (US only)
Website	thewombats.co.uk
Members
Matthew Murphy Dan Haggis Tord Øverland-Knudsen

The Wombats are an indie rock band from and formed in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. The band comprises native Liverpudlians Matthew Murphy (lead vocals, guitar, nose harp, keyboard) and Dan Haggis (drums, percussion, keyboard and backing vocals), alongside Norwegian-born Tord Øverland-Knudsen (bass guitar, guitar, keyboard and backing vocals). The band is signed to 14th Floor Records in the United Kingdom and Bright Antenna in the United States.

History[link]

[edit] The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love Loss & Desperation (2003–2008)

The Wombats attended Liverpool college, they then moved on to LIPA. The three band members met in 2003 at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, soon becoming friends, they formed The Wombats. Over the course of 2004 to 2005 the band released many EP's such as "The Hangover Sessions", "No.3" and "The Daring Adventures of Sgt. Wimbo and His Pet Otter". In 2005, the band released their debut album Girls, Boys, and Marsupials which was only available as a release in Japan.

In January 2007, the band released a second limited edition vinyl called Moving to New York, then in May of that year they released a third single entitled "Backfire at the Disco", which reached number 35 in the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by then band's first full single "Kill the Director" in late July. Their debut album, entitled The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, coincided with the release of "Let's Dance to Joy Division" in October 2007, and peaked at number 11 in the UK Albums Chart. It was followed by a European tour ending with a thanksgiving party at Liverpool Academy.^{[citation needed]}

The band started 2008 as the opening act at the opening ceremony of Liverpool, European Capital of Culture at Liverpool Arena. "Moving to New York" was re-released on 14 January 2008 and reached number 13 UK Singles Chart, becoming their highest charting release to date. On 28 February 2008 the band was awarded 'Best Dancefloor Filler' for their single "Let's Dance To Joy Division" at the NME Awards.^[1]

[edit] The Wombats EP (2008–2010)

In April 2008 the band put out their first U.S. release on Bright Antenna, The Wombats EP. Following this release the band went on a full UK tour, as well as playing dates in Europe and Japan. The band also played for Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1 where they covered the Take That song "Patience", as well as the Postman Pat theme tune, which Tord sang in his native Norwegian language.

The summer of 2008 saw the band perform live at a number of major festivals including Glastonbury Festival in June and T in the Park in July, opening the BBC Radio 1 / NME Stage set on the Friday. They also played Reading and Leeds Festival on the Saturday and Friday respectively on the Radio 1/NME Stage supporting Babyshambles. In September 2008 the band were filmed for a cameo appearance on Australian soap Neighbours.^[2]

The band also announced via their MySpace blog that they would be releasing two singles, a seasonal 'Anti-Christmas' themed "Is This Christmas?" on 15 December 2008, followed by a track titled "My Circuitboard City" on 3 March 2009.

[edit] The Wombats Proudly Present... This Modern Glitch (2010–present)

In September 2010, the band announced they were near to completing their second studio album, This Modern Glitch in the MRG Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California. The band worked with producers Eric Valetine and Jacknife Lee.

The first single to be released from the album, "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)" was released in the UK on 27 September 2010^[3] and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 23; marking the band's fifth Top 40 hit and third most successful single to date. The accompanying music video was shot in Los Angeles on 19–20 August 2010 and was directed by The General Assembly (directors). Following the rumoured release of "Techno Fan" as the second single to be released from the album, the track "Jump Into the Fog" was confirmed for a release on 24 January 2011.^[4] "Anti-D" has been announced as the next single, with the album following two weeks later. The album, entitled This Modern Glitch, was released in April 2011 as a CD, digital download and also as 7" and 12" vinyls.^[5] The Wombats also played at the 2011 Southside and Hurricane music festivals in Germany.

The Wombats' song 'Techno Fan' is currently being used in European airline easyJet's new television and Facebook campaigns.

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation (2007)
• The Wombats Proudly Present: This Modern Glitch (2011)

Extended plays

• "The Daring Adventures of Sgt. Wimbo and His Pet Otter" (2004)
• "The Hangover Sessions" (2004)
• "No.3" (2005)
• Girls, Boys and Marsupials (2006)
• The Wombats Go Pop! Pop! Pop! (2007)
• The Wombats EP (2007)
• The Wombats Proudly Present: This Acoustic Glitch (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• The Wombats at The Indie Music Database
• Official USA Website