The common wombat is found in southeastern Australia, Tasmania and Flinders Island.
They live in wet eucalyptus forests, coastal hillsides, and gullies and hills near streams.
They can grow to 4 feet long and weigh from 35-75 pounds. They range in color from yellow to black (with all the shades in between including silver). They have a rounded body, stubby tail, strong legs and long claws for digging large burrows.
They live alone, not even sharing a burrow, except during the breeding season. They are active at night (nocturnal), though do bask in the sun during colder months. They hiss and growl when threatened.
They eat grass, roots, sedges, and mushrooms (herbivores). Though they are not rodents, they do have chisel-like front teeth that grow throughout their lives.
They have no natural predators except man.
Females are pregnant for 3 weeks (gestation), and have 1 young (rarely 2) in April to June (which is fall in Australia). Females have pouches, like kangeroos, except they open toward the back. Like kangaroos, the baby is born very under-developed and crawls into the pouch where it nurses and grows for 6 months before it leaves the pouch.
Wombats live for about 5 years in the wild but more than 20 in captivity. They are listed as a "vulnerable" species.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Diprotodontia
Suborder: Vombatiformes
Family: Vombatidae
Genus: Vombatus
Species: Vombatus ursinus
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