Northern hairy-nosed wombat numbers seem to be increasing

April 26, 2023 4:02 AM

Northern hairy-nosed wombat numbers seem to be increasing (text article and embedded video). The northern hairy-nosed wombat species (the rarest of Australia's three wombat species) almost became extinct in the 1980s when numbers plummeted to 30 wombats at the Epping Forest National Park, about 400 kilometres south-west of Mackay. The first translocation of wombats from Epping to RUNR happened in 2009, and it is believed about 350 wombats now live between the two sites. Given the finite space of the current two sites and the predicted population growth of the large animals, the Queensland Government announced last month that a third wombat protection site had been added to its wombat recovery program.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (12 comments total)

Good wombat news is the best news.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 6:23 AM on April 26, 2023 [5 favorites]

The world needs more wombats.
posted by y2karl at 6:53 AM on April 26, 2023 [4 favorites]

This news came as a great relief to local seven-year-old, who has been tormented by her parents asking "Did you feed the wombat?" as part of the bedtime checklist.
posted by Etrigan at 7:27 AM on April 26, 2023 [3 favorites]

I, for one, welcome our hairy-nosed wombat overlords.
posted by amanda at 7:32 AM on April 26, 2023 [3 favorites]

These names, though. The hairy-nosed wombats do not seem to have noticeably hairier noses than the bare-nosed wombats, and I am afraid the nomenclature will make them self conscious. How about the “Regal Wombat,” “The Brave Wombat,” and “The Exceedingly Handsome Wombat” instead?
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:55 AM on April 26, 2023 [10 favorites]

I, for one, welcome our hairy-nosed wombat overlords.

Underlords, surely?
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:55 AM on April 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

“The Exceedingly Handsome Wombat” instead?

I think a wombat wrote this.
posted by amanda at 8:45 AM on April 26, 2023 [5 favorites]

Underlords, surely?

Tunneling Marsupials and Commanders.

In Seattle, the non-marsupial (and decidely non-endearing) wombat equivalents are nutrias. Think rat tailed capybaras.
posted by y2karl at 10:42 AM on April 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Yay for the wombats!!!
posted by kitten kaboodle at 10:56 AM on April 26, 2023

The PNW equivalents of wombats is probably Aplodontia rufa, though the timber industry hates them so much that I expect them to be wiped out before we declare them endangered.
posted by clew at 11:07 AM on April 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Legend!
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 1:19 PM on April 26, 2023

Excellent news!
posted by harriet vane at 4:57 AM on April 27, 2023