10 facts about wombats!
There’s more to these Aussie animals than meets the eye! So come on gang, let’s find out some fantastic facts about wombats…
Facts about wombats…
1) Wombats are marsupials
Like their tree-climbing cousin, the koala, wombats are marsupials. This means that they are part of a group of mammals who have pouches where their newborn young develop.
Wombat babies are born super small and helpless, so the pouch is a safe place for them to grow up and get ready for the world!
Did you know? Kangaroos, koalas, and wombats might not look alike, but they’re all marsupials! Plus, their adorable babies are all known as joeys.
2) There are three different species of wombat
These are the common wombat (also known as the bare-nosed wombat), the Southern hairy-nosed wombat, and the Northern hairy-nosed wombat. All three species live in Australia. They have a variety of habitats, including mountains, forests, and grasslands!
3) Wombats aren’t small!
An adult wombat usually grows to about a metre long – the same as a medium-sized dog. They can weigh up to 40 kilograms, and have wide, strong feet which are great for digging!
4) Wombats are mostly nocturnal
These clever critters spend their nights foraging for food, or digging new tunnels, entrances, or exits for their ever-expanding burrows! They are herbivores, so most of their time is spent grazing on native grasses.
Wombats usually spend their days tucked away in their underground homes. However, they do sometimes come out to sunbathe and warm up, especially when the weather is very cold.
5) Wombats can run at speeds of up to 40km per hour!
Good luck stopping a rampaging wombat! These animals can move quickly when they need to, and can sustain this speed for up to 90 seconds. There are even reports of humans being knocked over by charging wombats!
6) Wombat poo is cube-shaped (yes, really!)
Wombats often mark their territory using their poo, and so scientists believe the square-sided shape stops the poop from rolling away, ensuring the smelly signals stay put!
7) During bushfires, wombat burrows become places of shelter for many other animals
Wombat burrows, known as warrens, can be huge! These underground homes can contain tunnels over 200 metres long.
And these warrens don’t just serve as homes for wombats – they can become shelters for other small mammals, too. During bushfires, the tunnels stay cool, offering protection from the flames. Rock wallabies, bettongs, skinks and even little penguins have been seen using wombat warrens to escape fires, or hide from predators.
A black-footed wallaby was once spotted using a wombat burrow even more than the wombat owner. The intruder visited nearly 2,000 times in eight weeks!
8) In prehistoric times, herds of giant wombats roamed Australia!
These mega-marsupials formed a group of animals called Diprotodon, which lived in Australia during the Ice Age. Diprotodon were about 1.8 metres tall and weighed as much as 2,800 kilograms – roughly the same as a rhinoceros!
9) Their pouches face backwards
Most marsupials have their pouches on their fronts, but wombats have theirs facing backwards. This protects wombat joeys in the pouch from being sprayed with dirt while their mother digs in the ground.
10) The Northern hairy-nosed wombat is critically endangered
Sadly, there are only 115 Northern hairy-nosed wombats left on Earth. Due to food shortages and droughts, this species has been driven out of their historic habitat. They now live in just two tiny locations in Queensland, Australia.
Luckily, conservationists are working hard to help. In the 1980s, just 35 Northern hairy-nosed wombats were left alive – so things are already improving!
We hope you enjoyed our facts about wombats! Did you learn anything new? Let us know in the comments below.
Thank you to Jeremie Barnier, Alois Bühlmann, Laura Barry, Meg Jerrard, and Nico Smit for the images used in this article.
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COMMENTS1
wombat lover2.0
ty I needed this for an australian wildlife essay
anna
awwwwwwsooooome
fina
I am writing an essay on wombats and that really helped
Wombatlover
ty i really needed this for my presentation
jk
good
Roni
I love wombats they live around my house.
grace
I didn't know that wombats had pouches!
thecuberwuber
ty i needed these
Wow
Aspen
COOL
Thomasmckeeby
Awesome
HeartOfBedrock
Wow!
The wobats are very cute
i love it
good
niamhg9
OMG WOW CUTE COOL
Cool
Andersen
Coooooooooooooool
this is cute.
MY FAVOURITE ANIMAL IS NOW WOMBATS!!!!!!!
Isla
I’m really glad that I learned those facts!
Huy
Well done
Huhu
Very cool text perfect for school
Wow ! I did not know anything about wombats and know i've learnt 10 cool facts about them. awesome right?
vGe
This article isn't only for kids. I learned a huge amount about wombats, even at age almost 80 years old. They sound very interesting and I hope to meet one or more when (if) I get to Australia next summer.
bronzeleopard10
SAVE THE NORTHEN HAIRY-NOSED WOMBATS!
Me
Love it I recommended it to my family
Olive
Wombats are cute!
Marion Dane Geron
This REALLY helped me with my reaserch/book report. Thanks! Sincerely, Marion D. Geron
coco
love it
cool
BB
it really helped for school
Anna
Great
This article really helped!
Brianna
It was a big help!
dude
this is awesome !
Love it Wombats are my favorite animal.
COOL!!!!!!!
Arthur
COOL
Arthur
GREAT
thats one good animal i australia
Animal girl
Wombats are cute
stcwizard
I love wombats
Amelia
these facts are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
phoenixkid20
Wombats are very interesting! Cool
teleahf
this is amazing
JudeTShep
Wombats are pretty interesting! Since their waste is cube-shaped and they have pouches, which face backwards, I think wombats are neat. I also think that Naked Mole-Rats are really cool.
Cool!
Cool!
otis
COOL
zach
l didn't know that much about wombats
Sophia
cute
liz
im studying wombats, so this was big help!
tom
Ava.
Great! Now I know a lot about wombats!
I love these creatures
Soo amazing
joey
COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
COOL!
this was cool
Edwin
It was ok.
Natalie
Wombats are so cute
A Aravani
Wombats are one of the cutest animals on the planet!
Natalie
Wombats are one of my favourite animals. They are so cute
Very cool dude
The great
Animal jam lover
Wombats are SO cute!
james
cool
CUTE
yeet
cool
wombat boy
I love wombats and I never knew that they could run a 40 km a hour
Miral
So cool
CUTE!!!!!!!!!
cute
p
Rose
Tasmania is part of Australia . It isn’t a separate country.
Poop
Happy dog
Sebastian Vincent Burns
Trent
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Cooooooooooooool
mirabelle
Miss campbell(sophia)
connor
I'm glad I wasn't around when they were 1.8 metres tall
nth19304
i love it 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
pj
wow i did not know they were from the ice age
Ethan
lol
Ref
JJ
Hi
So cute
Wombats are so cool
Talon
Hi
tayla
so cute !!!
cool
Noor
that is so much cool for me
milla_2014
i ove iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttt
milla_2014
WOW so amazing
Eyob
I love this
Annelie
WOW
Doris
I love it
Annelie
Cool
Poppy
speed of 40km that is amazing
Hi
eliza7106
Can't wait
Doris4
Great
Caelin
They can be 1.8 meters tall
Caelin.Yan
They can be 1.8 metres tall Wow!
ct
cool
leonardo3227
i love it
Liam
Cool
person
this site is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo helpful if you need to make a slide presentation like me
Gabbie
Wow so interesting
Mika
Hayden
I love wombats
APRIL
so cool and funny
YusufK225
I LOVE WOMBATS!
YusufK225
YusufK225
YusufK225
Leslie
Where can I see a photo of the wombats pouch? Very fascinating!
Kaitlyn
My mum is Aussie and so it was nice to learn about wombats
Kaitlyn
Cool
121221
Alannah
alana
I love wombats
mikey.spence
square poo , thats wierd
Pauline
I live in Australia so I see them a lot at night
I loved it very intresting
asasa
luella
That was great!Wombats are so cool!thanks for teaching me this col stuff!
jaylee
hi poeple
lucy love horse
69
cool
sasha
Yes i did that wombat poo is a square.
Taj
Amazing
Taj
Love nature thanks
Taj Hubbard
Thanks for the information!!!
lily
cool
196
Clemmie
Thanks you for teaching me.
Pp
Rory
Zoomer
Thanks a lot!
Zoomer
Our teacher made us read it and now I know more about these furry mammals!
Aaron
Wow L have learnt a lot about wombats! It is so fascinating i love these cute creatures!
Aaron
Wow! Cool creatures!they are amazing and i want to learn more about them. Thanks! L have learnt a lot abut wombats
ocean
amazing so cool!
Erni
These are so many cool facts about these cute Aussie animals! I am going to be a biologist when l grow up! Thanks natgeo kids!
melanie
wow
melanie
wow
MelanieAva74
wow! awesome
Malik
l love wombats they are so cute!
sha sha
love them!
elizabeth
Awwww
elizabethl115
Wombats are so cute!!!
Piper
Great facts
Grace
Maya
I love wombats to! They are so cute!!
Maya
Maya
Maya
I love wombats to!they are so cute!
Maya
I love wombats to!their so cute
Maya
cool!
I LOVE this websiteee!
lola
loved it.
Lila
This is cool
JJ
This is so cool. I love wombats
#Unicorn {Parker}
I have seen wombats before, and now I know a lot more about them! I wish I could just pick one up and cuddle it all day. Thanks natgeo kids! I ❤ wombats
Eloise
didn't know that
This is really useful
FUN
Lucy
florence
the wombat looks so sweet #megacute
Jayden
CoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOooooooooooooool
Evan
Nice
southern pacfic fan
good
southerer train
Ewan
wow
ⓈⒼ|CB•M☯ηstεrツ
WOWWW
Rishan
Rishan
Nice facts
JunoF
awesome
Jayden
I like the facts
SHARK DUDE
LOVE IT
SHARK DUDE
There poo is square HA HA HA
SHARK DUDE
yuno
Celine
Wow
Alice
I love your facts and I learnd a lot! Thank you!
Holy
AishaN453
AMAZING!
THERE SO CUTE
SO CUTE
Worst
I like it so much that i read the whole thing 10 times
Chinaza
I love this They are all interesting facts Cool!!
Chinaza
I love this They are all interesting facts Cool!!
~Esha~
COOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jesse
I love Wombats their so cute
Cool_facts
Cool_facts
I think this is cool
Cool_facts
Marcus
Awesome
Billy
Hi Marcus
Marcus
Cool
Drifted_eyes
These facts are so cool my eyes drifted away!
Blap
WOW
Squirrel
Great
bamboozled
i am now bamboozled bc the facts are so good!!!
Katie
Thanks
Ben
Cool
cool
OSKAR
VERY NICE
Cool
jenny
hey
hey
Cede
camilla
sooooo cute！
Em
Cool
greg
intresting
Bob
Hi
Ben
Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is COOL AND LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ALEX
ROSE
WOW! I never knew how cute and long they could get!
khaled
wombat
Ariel
They are so cute!
Alice. Theo. Harrinson
Cool
eathan
cute and cool
Wombats are nice marsupials
LLAMALVR
LLAMALVR
hi
LLAMALVR
hi
bubble n' tea
this is so fun! easy for my homework!
lane
this is a cool app
C H I V 3 S
im doing this as my school work! keep going with these things! i love them, but my brother loves them more!
Namish
Very intresting
Dragonlilly
cool
nice
Sienna
I want to know more about wombats!
matthewc940
cool
Fay
matthewc940
cute
I like wombats
I like wombats
I like wombats
s
Candy Kane
mombats are so cute
candy kane
Wow I had no idea they are so big!
Skweak
Amazing
hi
nice facts
shark
wow
Action
Action
Thomas
i love foxes
Thomas
Hi
nate.mader
great facts
kids!
LOVE IT!!!
Salut
Lion
Wow!
Olivia Mckenzie
I love natgeokids because I love all the stuff on it so thank you for making this website
hi
jacob
amazing
hi
re
hi
endeavour
I Henry, im endever.
Super cool!
Eliza
Hi
Henry
Hello
Like it
Clara
So cool people
Izzy
Clara
Henry
Intresting
Henry
Hi I’m new
Tammanahah
Thgugjgygttt
Fire lion
Thank you for your help about harpy eagles
5911BROMAN
wow
garry
cute
Evie
Love it! Wombats are so cute!
kaasey
hi
Panda
Cameron
Its really interesting
Gabe
I think the wombat is a really cool herbivore! I thought a wombat was a bat but I learned it is an herbivore!
Good
Luky
I love them they are so cute
WallanPS
cool facts
Bobalover
I love your facts! Thank you for helping me!
Harley
SQUARE POOP
cool
good facts
so awsome
catherine
in frozen tow olof said that wambats poop sqares but i never new it was true
Person
Wombats r very cool
Ellie
traelyn
so cute
alex
That's sad that that species is dying but there were definitely MEGA-animals during the ice age and the mega-wombats show that there were MEGA- animals during the ice age.
I ❤️ Wombats
caleb
pretty swag nat geo! thx man!!
Zayme
victor
awesome i mean AWESOME ;]
zeek
zeek
I can't wait to start my journey
Wally
WOW!
Brooke
I love wombats!!!!!
:)
I ❤ wombats
I ❤ wombats
Nickname
Yuson
jamesschneider
Sooooo cute!
Elliot
me niether
raspberry003
thats amazing
Cat Lover 2.0
I love wombats. They are sooo cool.
Choochoo
isabella A
I can’t believe they could climb trees
I love u
so cool
juan
cool
lion
hi
Jellybean
That is cool
Cool
Jellybean
Wow that sounds really good.I have seen wombats at different places.They looked sooo cool.
Awesome
Zach!!!!!!!
cool
Timothy
Wow
Piper wheatley
It was great
Nasutoceratops13
Cute
most interesting
Cakes
COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Isaac
COOL!
i love birds!!!!
Animogs
Wombats are cool
Good facts
Biawiagirl
COOL
ember
betta than eva!
Miller.Baldwin
I have a friend that likes turtles.
maekalin
cool
alexa
wow so many things to learn
Yay
josiah
sooooo cool
Flossy
Good facts
bob
noice!
awesome Sause
great article!!
k
lolz
fredster
facts cool!
Katherine
Alie
COOL
Lwickerham
Super helpful! It is helping me excel in science! It is helping me learn more about the world around me! Thanks again!
Mila
Super
Emily
This is so helpful! Wow, wow wow!
This is good
Buddy B
wow
sweet
Evie
They are soooooo cute
Isla
Hi i love this site it is the best i love the wombats to and i really like the lego to this site is funny too
Isla
Hi
Isla
I love this site and i love the wombats to and all the others to i love the lego one to
ophelia
i love it
MMENTS Landon wow! Eliza Bob Cool NatGeoFan I actually can't believe that the wombat's poo shape is a cube! I am also surprised that wombats are marsupials and can also dig pretty well with their strong feet! maya i love animals the wombat facts actually is cool liliana LOVE IT i like this zaydilan.arifhusni i love wombats mithran cool Lionheart Funny i am new das war cool Mia Hi Candice Taylor I love to learn about animals! oh my cute cute so cute So Cool! Ash Wow Cool! I didnt expect this Miles Matt WOOW Mateo WWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWww Mateo Omg I really like wombats lest gooo woooooooow. amarpayne awesome awesome Leon Wow JakeH i love this site Dan So so cool Savannah Amazing! I find the backwards pouch very interesting sun123him nice Felix Weird wombatifan32 osofuzzornite Eilís CUTE!!!!! leow Hannah Awesome facts! roblox wow!!! Morgan Cute! ffion l love pets rhiannonluvswolvs It's so sad that the Northern hairy-nosed wombat is critically endangered:( kk_koala I love marsupials, could you add a koala to the avatar maker? Anna hey i like bts katelyn hehehehhehheheheheehhehheheehhehehehhehehhehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe cool good aoibhinn wow i really love wombats Wombatlover Wombat Leila wow huy401 so cool Ilaria I loved these facts, very interesting! I feel bad for the poor endangered one though e e cool hhhhhhiiiiiii charlotte cute Drayton ss Phoebe WOW! nya you guys are amazing and smart! Polarz Amazing. Very interesting! Jessica I didn’t know they egxisted❤️It Livvy This app is cool!!!! Livvy I love this app Wow Class Wildlife Warrior i love wombats Wildlife Warrior I have seen wombat burrows and Square poop in tasmania Wildlife Warrior I have been walking and seen wombat burrows and their square poop in tasmania Alexxy Wow! hoonabanoona wobats poop is square ! Animalqueen34 Wombats are so cute and the facts are SO interesting!!!!!!! Dog Good connor wow LUCY COOL So cute moshalalalala wombat facts these animals are cool Ewadragon I love wombats! So cute! Tiko junior lets work togther ryan cool OptimusBolt I didn't know that Wombats could run up to 40 km!!! red nosed jared lol GIZELLEY THE GIRAFFY IM A GIRAFFEY Gizelley The Giraffy Hey Im A Giraffe Elyse the griffin hello Gizelley The Giraffy hi jaredddd Optimusbolt Evan WombatLover I Love Wombats Miles Miles Miles Mothball Cute! In school we were learning about Aussie critters and wombats were my favourite!
i loved it
swaringchipmunks2020
the poo part is so discasting.
mgfaz10
I love wombats i can't belive some are endangered
Elliot James Halford
Wow I thought there was two types of wombat. I love Australia’s wildlife.
Bea
Wow
Keoki
Bryce
cool
cool
monkey man
cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute cute v
Animal1
Awesome
Liz
Wow!
wow!
Nice
hi
Evi dog
I love it
Landon
wow!
Eliza
Bob
Cool
NatGeoFan
I actually can't believe that the wombat's poo shape is a cube! I am also surprised that wombats are marsupials and can also dig pretty well with their strong feet!
maya
i love animals the wombat facts actually is cool
liliana
LOVE IT
i like this
zaydilan.arifhusni
i love wombats
mithran
cool
Lionheart
Funny
i am new
das war cool
Mia
Hi
Candice Taylor
I love to learn about animals!
oh my
cute
cute
so cute
So Cool!
Ash
Wow Cool! I didnt expect this
Miles
Matt
WOOW
Mateo
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWww
Mateo
Omg I really like wombats lest gooo
woooooooow.
amarpayne
awesome
awesome
Leon
Wow
JakeH
i love this site
Dan
So so cool
Savannah
Amazing! I find the backwards pouch very interesting
sun123him
nice
Felix
Weird
wombatifan32
osofuzzornite
Eilís
CUTE!!!!!
leow
Hannah
Awesome facts!
roblox
wow!!!
Morgan
Cute!
ffion
l love pets
rhiannonluvswolvs
It's so sad that the Northern hairy-nosed wombat is critically endangered:(
kk_koala
I love marsupials, could you add a koala to the avatar maker?
Anna
hey i like bts
katelyn
hehehehhehheheheheehhehheheehhehehehhehehhehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe
cool
good
aoibhinn
wow i really love wombats
Wombatlover
Wombat
Leila
wow
huy401
so cool
Ilaria
I loved these facts, very interesting! I feel bad for the poor endangered one though
e
e
cool
hhhhhhiiiiiii
charlotte
cute
Drayton ss
Phoebe
WOW!
nya
you guys are amazing and smart!
Polarz
Amazing. Very interesting!
Jessica
I didn’t know they egxisted❤️It
Livvy
This app is cool!!!!
Livvy
I love this app
Wow
Class
Wildlife Warrior
i love wombats
Wildlife Warrior
I have seen wombat burrows and Square poop in tasmania
Wildlife Warrior
I have been walking and seen wombat burrows and their square poop in tasmania
Alexxy
Wow!
hoonabanoona
wobats poop is square !
Animalqueen34
Wombats are so cute and the facts are SO interesting!!!!!!!
Dog
Good
connor
wow
LUCY
COOL
So cute
moshalalalala
wombat facts
these animals are cool
Ewadragon
I love wombats! So cute!
Tiko junior
lets work togther
ryan
cool
OptimusBolt
I didn't know that Wombats could run up to 40 km!!!
red nosed jared
lol
GIZELLEY THE GIRAFFY
IM A GIRAFFEY
Gizelley The Giraffy
Hey Im A Giraffe
Elyse the griffin
hello
Gizelley The Giraffy
hi
jaredddd
Optimusbolt
Evan
WombatLover
I Love Wombats
Miles
Miles
Miles
Mothball
Cute! In school we were learning about Aussie critters and wombats were my favourite!
CUSTOMIZE YOUR AVATAR