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Wombat

Built to Burrow: Common wombats live in southeastern Australia and Tasmania. They prefer heath, coastal scrub and open forest habitats, where the soil tends to be loose and easy to dig. Wombats love to burrow. They are, in fact, the world's largest burrowing mammals. With broad, flattened heads, compact bodies, short, powerful limbs and wide, large-clawed feet, digging is a cinch for the common wombat.

A World of Warrens: A single wombat will establish several burrows, called warrens, in its home range. These are typically built on grassy banks above creeks or gullies, where they have easy access to native grasses and drinking water. Large wombat warrens can include numerous underground branches, several sleeping chambers, and multiple entrances and exits, extending a total length of up to 650 feet. Wombats also build many small warrens, which are usually less than 7 feet in length, to be used as quick escape routes when predators are afoot.

Slow to Digest: The wombat has a very slow metabolism, an adaptation to surviving in arid conditions. It takes about 14 days for the wombat to digest a typical meal.

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MORE WOMBAT

VIDEO: Wombat Rescue

QUIZ: Wombat Quiz

INTERACTIVE: Anatomy of a Wombat

PUZZLES: Wombat Puzzles

SPECIES:Meet the Common Wombat

SPECIES: Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat

DID YOU KNOW?

Safe From Behind: Once it enters its burrow, the wombat is virtually safe from any predators. It lacks a meaningful tail and most of its rump is made of cartilage, which makes it nearly impossible for a predator to bite it from behind.

Reliant on the Rain: The southern hairy-nosed wombat lives in a semi-arid environment. Its young do not survive when there's no rainfall, and it takes three years for one to reach maturity.

Critically Endangered: The northern hairy-nosed wombat is one of the rarest large mammals in the world. Its habitat has been reduced to a 3-square-kilometer patch of protected land.