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NSW: Warriwillah - Humane Society International

Warriwillah is a spectacular 300 acre property less than an hour south of Canberra. It is situated only 3 km from Namadgi National Park and 8 km from Tinderry Nature Reserve, and is subject to a Voluntary Conservation Agreement with the NSW State Government.

TAS: Lyn and Geoff's Refuge - Lyn and Geoff Murray

Lyn and Geoff's Refuge is 10 acres consisting almost entirely of bushland. The sanctuary is lightly wooded with dry sclerophyll, with common heath and other eucalypt species, which provides habitat for many species including echidnas, common wombats, wallabies, potoroo's, possums, tawny frogmouths, robin redbreasts, blue wrens, and rosellas.

QLD: Cooper Creek Wilderness - Prue Hewett

Cooper Creek Wilderness is a 67 hectare World Heritage listed property located in Diwan, near the Daintree National Park, predominantly made up of complex mesophyll vined rainforest. Among its inhabitants are endangered cassowaries, musky rat kangaroos, rare Bennett's tree kangaroos and many other fauna.

NSW: Falls Forest Retreat - Mary White

Falls Forest Retreat is 80 hectares situated in a private valley at the foot of Middle Brother Mountain, with the surrounding forest joining the property with hills and the Middle Brother National Park. There is great biodiversity of flora, fauna, and fungi present within the sanctuary, with red-neck wallabies in the valley, platypus in the river, and a number of rare and endangered frogs and plants.

NSW: Jaloran - Jens and Lisa Stephan

Jaloran is a 60.7 hectare property which is located North-East of Cooma. Animal life on the sanctuary includes birds native to the area, eastern grey kangaroos, wombats, and a koala. Extensive revegetation efforts are being undertaken in order to stem the erosion and lengthen the vegetated wildlife corridor between the nature reserve and the river.

VIC: Wingura - Suzanne and John Brandenberger

Wingura covers 2.5 hectares in Walkerville, featuring native bushland comprised predominantly of coastal tea-tree, banksias, white correa, bearded heath and 8 different types of orchid. Wildlife known to be present on the property includes wallabies, wombats, echidnas, kangaroos, koalas, Eastern pygmy possums, and a wide variety of birds.

WA: Tippaburra Valley - Buddy Kent

Tippaburra Valley is a 2,468 hectare farm featuring at least 700 hectares of native vegetation shelter belts and corridors, all of which is covenanted to the National Trust in an attempt to ensure that whoever owns the property in the future cares for it as well as the current owner, who this year plans to plant more than 50 acres of native seedlings on the sanctuary.

QLD: The Roost - Lynn Childs

The Roost is situated within an isolated pocket 80 km north of Bundaberg that is surrounded by national parkland. It provides a valuable corridor between Deepwater Creek National Park and the Deepwater Conservation Park.

Wombats PDF Print E-mail

Bare-nosed wombat on Roz and Kevin Holmes' sanctuary, Cedar Creek Wildlife Rescue.

 

Bare-Nosed (Vombatus ursinus), Southern Hairy-Nosed (Lasiorhinus latifrons) and Northern Hairy-Nosed (Lasiorhinus krefftii) Wombats

 

Several WLT members are heavily involved in the rehabilitation and care of at least one of these species, and it can't help but be admitted that there is something about a wombat's stubbornness and determination that makes them an irresistible example of Australian fauna.

 

Bare-nosed wombat

Formerly known as the common wombat, being dubbed "bare-nosed" is a deliberate attempt at distinguishing this variety of wombat from its hairy-nosed counterparts without attaching the stigma that the word "common" carries.  The most wide spread and abundant species of wombat, they are found in Tasmania, Victoria, and along the eastern ranges all the way through New South Wales and into Queensland.  Often nocturnal, your best bet at spotting one of these stocky and robust mammals is camping out near a burrow in the early morning or late afternoon.

 

Bared-nosed wombat on Narelle Jenz and Luke Tyrrell's sanctuary, Kinabo.

 

Northern hairy-nosed wombat

The plight of the northern hairy-nosed wombat is by far the most severe of the three species', being listed as Endangered under the Federal EPBC Act and classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.  Its range is all but restricted to just 300 hectares within the Epping Forest in central Queensland.  In the mid-1980s only 35 northern hairy-nosed wombats were believed to survive in this population, and although numbers had increased to 65 by the mid-1990s, the population was dominated by older animals and males outnumbered females two to one.  The most recent census was conducted in 2007, and produced a population estimate of 138 wombats at a near equal sex ratio.  Although clearly becoming more robust, having such a localised distribution leaves the fate of the northern hairy-nosed wombat precariously in the balance, susceptible should local disasters, such as bushfires, occur.  To combat this possibility, selected individuals are gradually being moved to a new location.

 

Southern hairy-nosed wombat

Southern hairy-nosed wombats are similar in size to their bare-nosed counterparts, but have softer grey fur, longer ears and a broader nose.  Their range is primarily in South Australia and southeastern Western Australia, however small populations existing in southwest New South Wales have seen it be listed as Endangered under the Threatened Species Conservation Act.  Although in a significantly more stable situation than the northern hairy-nosed wombat, the species is considered under threat due to declining distribution range and population sizes, while low reproductive rates both in the wild and captivity are cause for concern.  As with the other two species, mange is a real problem for South Australia's faunal emblem.

 

Southern hairy-nosed wombat taking a rest on Bev Langley's Minton Farm.

 

National Wombat Conference - Albury

The Wildlife Land Trust was proud to sponsor the National Wombat Conference held in Albury in early 2011.  Although our attendance began on day two, recounts unanimously agreed that Yalmambirra's welcome to country and talk on the importance of wildlife to indigenous people was the perfect way to kick things off.  A couple of WLT members, Shirley Lack and Dr Suzanne Alder, demonstrated their incredible wombat knowledge and shared their insights into feeding regimes for rehabilitating wombats and psychological perspectives of wombat communication and behaviour, while WLT member Lesley Machin was part of a forum panel discussing wombat care and rehabilitation in general.  Thanks to Bev Langley, Roz Holme, Paula Rooney, Dianna Bisset and David Alder, as well as those aforementioned for having a chat at some stage throughout the conference, and congratulations to all of you who were involved in the organisation, it was a fantastic and above all educational weekend.

 
 

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