Happy Hairy Nosed Day!
20 years ago, I joined Dr Alan Horsup and a group of volunteers to survey the population of Northern hairy-nosed wombats at Epping Forest National Park. The spark for this trip came while I read The Secret Life of Wombats by James Woodford and found out more about the wombats, where they lived and how I could help.
Of the 3 species of wombats in Australia (Common wombat, Southern Hairy-nosed wombat and Northern Hairy-nosed wombat), the Northern Hairy-nosed wombat is the most at risk.
The Northern hairy-nosed wombat is listed as Critically Endangered in Queensland under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992. It is also Critically Endangered in Australia under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Finally, it is listed as Critically Endangered internationally under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Redlist of Threatened Species.
The species declined rapidly when Europeans came to Australia and by the 1980s, there were only 35 individual animals left! When I visited in 2002, we identified 84 individuals by hair census – placing strips of double-sided sticky-tape across the entrance to wombat burrows and collecting the hair on that tape (stuck to it as wombats came in and out of the burrows) to be analysed. DNA was extracted from the hair so conservation managers could classify and determine the sex of individual wombats. I saw wombat poo, wombat footprints and wombat scratching but I didn't see a single wombat. My family were baffled that I travelled from Victoria to Queensland to help an animal I didn’t even see!
I have followed the wombats' story over the years and support The Wombat Foundation. I am so pleased their numbers continue to increase, thanks to the dedication of The Wombat Foundation, Queensland Department of Environment and Science staff and countless volunteers.
Happy Hairy Nosed Day on 11 May!
Find teacher resources about the Northern hairy-nosed wombat.
Photographs (clockwise from top left): Northern hairy-nosed wombat scratchings, Shannon walking through grass, wombat hair, wombat poo and a wombat burrow.
