text x_quick_Title2=Class: Marsupialia~Order: Diprodontia~Family: Vombatidae~(Lasiorhinus krefftii)
text x_quick=Where in the World~\
` The hairy-nosed wombat is found in Australia, in the states of South Australia and Queensland.~\
` At one time, the hairy-nosed wombat's range included South Australia, Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales.~~\
Take a Look!~\
` Wombats are pretty big animals - an adult can be three feet long, not including a little tail that's about two inches long.~\
` A full-grown wombat can weigh up to seventy pounds - some reports say that they can weigh up to ninety pounds, and the wombat's ancestors may have weighed well over two hundred pounds.~\
` There are two kinds of wombats. The hairy-nosed wombat has soft fur and its nose is (surprise) hairy. Its cousin, the common wombat, has coarse fur and a bare snout.~~\
All in the Family~\
` There are only two species of wombats, the hairy-nosed wombat and the common wombat. Their closest relative is the koala.~~\
Just the Facts~\
` Even though they can be fairly large, wombats are generally shy and timid.~\
` Wombats are nocturnal, they sleep during the day and are active at night.~\
` A wombat lives in a burrow dug underground. It's a bit like an apartment house - each wombat has its own room, but there are many rooms to each burrow.~\
` Although they live in a common burrow, wombats tend to be fairly solitary. They move through their days and nights singly, not in pairs or bunches.~\
` This large, somewhat startling-looking animal is a vegetarian - it eats grass.~\
` Wombats are marsupials, that means their babies aren't fully developed when they are born. They climb into a pouch on the mother's stomach to continue their development. The most familiar marsupial is a kangaroo.~\
` A wombat is pregnant for less than a month, and perhaps as short a time as 20 days. Her single offspring (twins are rare) stays in her pouch for six or seven months.~\
` A wombat in captivity once lived for 24 and a half years, however wild wombats probably don't live that long.
;habitat
text x_hab= Once, hairy-nosed wombats lived across much of Australia and Tasmania. Today, there aren't very many hairy-nosed (also called "soft-furred") wombats left. Long ago, there were many of these wombats in the Riverina area in the state of New South Wales, and the hairy-nosed wombats in southeastern Queensland probably became extinct around the turn of the century. Today, there are a few left in east-central Queensland and another group reported to live on the border of Queensland and South Australia.~\
The hairy-nosed wombat lives in open plains areas. Their habitat is dry and arid, it isn't quite a desert, but comes close sometimes. They need dry soil to build their tunnel systems, and if they can, they create communities near rivers, where a year-round water supply helps them survive the hottest months. The wombats make clear paths through the grass and scrub, some go from one burrow entrance to another, some go from entrances to feeding areas, and some connect one burrow system with a neighbouring burrow.
;Life Style
text x_life= When you look at a wombat, you might think that it is slow, clumsy, and awkward - and that's fine with the wombat. It's a very shy, timid animal, and it would rather you giggled and left instead of staying around to admire it. Actually, wombats aren't that slow, they can run pretty quickly for short bursts. (If they could keep the speed up, which they can't, they could go 25 miles in an hour. That's faster than cars are usually allowed to drive through suburban neighbourhoods.) Wombats aren't interested in demonstrating their sprinting abilities. If something comes along that looks dangerous to the wombat (and just about anything looks dangerous to the gentle wombat), swoop! It disappears into its hole to hide underground.~\
You'd think that an animal big enough to weigh seventy pounds would be a bit braver! ~\
Do you wish you could explore a wombat's underground world? A wombat's tunnels have to be big enough for a seventy-pound wombat, so they're big enough for a child to crawl through. (If you live in Australia, or if you are lucky enough to visit, you shouldn't enter a wombat's tunnel. Not only is it dangerous, but you would be dropping by without an invitation. The wombat would be scared or annoyed, and the place might not be picked up...) The burrows are like apartment houses. Each wombat has its own room and its favourite way to the outside, but there are lots of tunnels going from room to room. Each burrow has lots of different entrances, so the wombats are never trapped if one hole caves in or if a predator sits patiently outside waiting for its dinner to come out. Wombats are great at digging, and they are constantly expanding and improving their home. One burrow discovered in the early 1900s (before wombats were endangered and there were plenty of them) was about 2,500 feet long and 250 feet wide. Have you ever been to one of those warehouse-type stores? Imagine the biggest grocery store you know, filled with dirt and inhabited by hundreds of fuzzy wombats scurrying happily through all the tunnels - that's a big burrow!~\
The tunnels aren't just for safety. Hairy-nosed wombats live in dry areas that are almost deserts. During the day, they need a place to sleep that's out of the sun - a long, dark tunnel is perfect. Underground, the temperature stays pretty much the same so even on the hottest days, a wombat's burrow is comfortable. Any moisture in the air won't get baked out when it's underground, so the air in the tunnels is not only cooler, it's more moist, too. Wombats have adjusted to living in a dry climate. They conserve the water in their bodies so they don't need to drink very often. The bad news is, they don't have a built-in way to cool down if they get too hot. Humans have a built-in system, when you get hot, you sweat and that helps your body cool off. Wombats don't even have sweat glands, so getting overheated is really bad news. The best solution is not to get hot in the first place. That's why the dark, cool tunnels are such a good home for the wombat, and why they usually only leave the tunnels at night.~\
To dig a new tunnel, the wombat sits firmly on its rump and back legs, facing the dirt wall where it wishes a new tunnel would be. It uses its front paws to dig, and flings the dirt to the sides. When there is too much loose dirt, the wombat begins to back up, moving the loose soil along with both the front and back feet. Eventually, it backs its way outside or to some place inside where the dirt can be left. Young wombats dig their own little burrows inside their mother's tunnels. Eventually, they'll get tired of living with mum and start their own tunnels.
;Food and Feeding
text x_eat= Hairy-nosed wombats are vegetarians - they eat only plants. (Animals that eat only meat, like a cat, are called carnivores. And those that eat both plants and meat, like humans, are called omnivores.) Because they live in dry, semi-arid regions, the wombats generally eat grasses. They usually have their own private feeding areas. When there are plenty of rains, the wombat can afford to be choosy, and eats only a few select herbs that grow in its region. Hotter, dryer weather means fewer plants grow, and the wombat can't be so choosy.~\
The dry climate means that the wombat has had to learn to do without a great deal of water. So wombats have become nocturnal and stay underground during the hottest part of the day. That way, they stay cool and need less water. If it's possible, a wombat will choose to live near a permanent source of water, like a large river.
;Threats
text x_threat= Before humans came to Australia, the wombats didn't have too many big problems - long droughts when nothing grows were probably the biggest concern. But when the humans arrived, they eventually began farming and grazing livestock (cattle and sheep) in the wombat's regions. That meant that there was a lot more competition for the few gra
