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Pyrmont Station. Wombats have an extraordinarily slow metabolism , taking around 8 to 14 days to complete digestion , which aids their survival in arid conditions. Dingos and Tasmanian devils prey on wombats. Extinct predators were likely to have included Thylacoleo and possibly the thylacine. Their primary defence is their 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 rumps to block a pursuing attacker. Wombats are generally quiet animals. Bare-nosed wombats can make a number of different sounds, more than the hairy-nosed wombats. Wombats tend to be more vocal during mating season. When angered, they can make hissing sounds. Their call sounds somewhat like a pig's squeal. They can also make grunting noises, a low growl, a hoarse cough, and a clicking noise. The three extant species of wombat [1] all are endemic to Australia and a few offshore islands. They are protected under Australian law.
Depictions of the animals in rock art are exceptionally rare, though examples estimated to be up to 4, years old have been discovered in Wollemi National Park. The mainland stories tell of the wombat as originating from a person named Warreen whose head had been flattened by a stone and tail amputated as punishment for selfishness.
In contrast, the Tasmanian aboriginal story first recorded in tells of the wombat known as the drogedy or publedina the great spirit Moihernee had asked hunters to leave alone. In both cases, the wombat is regarded as having been banished to its burrowing habitat.
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The name "wombat" comes from the now nearly-extinct Darug language spoken by the aboriginal Darug people , who originally inhabited the Sydney area. 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. Because of this, localities such as Badger Creek, Victoria , and Badger Corner, Tasmania, were named after the wombat.
After the ship Sydney Cove ran aground on Clarke Island in February , the crew of the salvage ship, Francis , discovered wombats on the island. Governor John Hunter later sent the animal's corpse to Joseph Banks at the Literary and Philosophical Society [28] to verify that it was a new species. The island was named Clarke Island after William Clark. Wombats were classified as vermin in , and were subject of the introduction of a bounty in Humans can receive puncture wounds from wombat claws, as well as bites.
Startled wombats can also charge humans and bowl them over, [31] with the attendant risks of broken bones from the fall. He resorted to killing it with an axe. Common wombats are considered by some farmers as a nuisance due primarily to their burrowing behaviour. Since , an unofficial holiday called Wombat Day has been observed on 22 October. Wombat meat has been a source of bush food from the arrival of aboriginal Australians to the arrival of Europeans. Due to the protection of the species, wombat meat as food is no longer part of mainstream Australian cuisine, but wombat stew was once one of the few truly Australian dishes.
Rabbits are now considered an invasive pest in Australia. The name of the dish is also used by a popular children's book and musical. Wombats have featured in Australian postage stamps and coins. The hairy-nosed wombats have featured mainly to highlight their elevated conservation status. The northern hairy-nosed wombat featured on an Australian cent stamp and also an Australian five-cent stamp. The common wombat has appeared on a cent stamp and an Australian cent stamp.
Wombats are rarely seen on circulated Australian coins, an exception is a cent coin which also shows a koala and lorikeet. Many places in Australia have been named after the wombat, including a large number of places where they are now locally extinct in the wild.
References to the locally extinct common wombat can be found in parts of the Central Highlands of Victoria, for example the Wombat State Forest and Wombat Hill in Daylesford. Other significant places named after the wombat includes the town of Wombat, New South Wales.
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Numerous less significant Australian places, including hotels, are named after the animals. Wombats have also been a feature of Australian television. While wombats are not generally kept as pets, a notable depiction of a common wombat as a pet is Fatso from the Australian television show A Country Practice.
The Brisbane television show Wombat was also named for the animals. Australian literature contains many references to the wombat. Examples are Mr. All species of wombats are protected in every Australian state.