Cameras reveal wombat burrows can be safe havens after fire

May 26, 2024 2:18 AM

Cameras reveal wombat burrows can be safe havens after fire and waterholes after rain (The Conversation.) And here is a cartoon about it: A wombat burrow is the food court of nature – and so much more. It is like an Airbnb combined with an Aldi. (First Dog on the Moon).
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (6 comments total)

ah mutualism
posted by HearHere at 2:34 AM on May 26, 2024

Highly recommend James Woodford's The Secret Life of Wombats. Bit old now, 2001, but still a top read.

(A second-hand copy is going on Amazon UK for £115, I see... it's not that highly recommended. But there are other copies around for six quid.)
posted by rory at 2:35 AM on May 26, 2024

Wombats (and wombat burrows) are much bigger than I was imagining.
From Wombat Fact Sheet:

• On average, wombats are 3.3 feet long and weigh 55 to 88 pounds ... look like short, stocky bears...
• Wombat burrows, which can be 10 to 100 feet long and 11.5 feet deep, are highly complex, with interconnecting tunnels, designated sleeping chambers, and sometimes several entrances and exits. Wombats have different burrows for different purposes. Some house only one or two wombats, some house family groups. Wombats may also be sociable, visiting each other’s burrows. The burrows are also sometimes used by other species, such as wallabies, rabbits, foxes, and lizards.

From Wombania: "Many of these burrows may be quite old, 50 years or more, and are passed on to newer generations."
posted by pracowity at 3:55 AM on May 26, 2024 [4 favorites]

“To the Wombatcave, Wombatman!”
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:20 AM on May 26, 2024 [6 favorites]

ah mutualism

Yep - the reason they’re the polar opposite of Airbnb and Aldi.
posted by reedbird_hill at 6:28 AM on May 26, 2024 [1 favorite]

In the southeast United States gopher tortoise burrows serve a similar function.
posted by TedW at 6:33 AM on May 26, 2024 [2 favorites]