4 Common wombat, Bare-nosed Wombat at Hackett, ACT
Identification history
| Vombatus ursinus | 18 May 2023 | DonFletcher | ||
| Vombatus ursinus | 18 May 2023 | msietsma |
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Significant sighting
DonFletcher noted:
19 May 2023
Wombat records are rare in Ainslie Majura and surrounding suburbs: 1994 in suburb at Ainslie; 2018 scats seen near Mt Ainslie Drive; 2020 animal in its burrow on NE side of Majura; now this record near the former Hackett Horse Paddocks, one of the few parts of Ainslie Majura with optimal wombat habitat.
User's notes
The wombat was on the edge of the carpark on Antill St, and rain into the drain. It has a bald spot on its forehead which may be mange, but didn't seem to have mange on the body from what I could see.
8 comments
DonFletcher
wrote:
19 May 2023
Thanks Mary for this record. It is only the fourth for Ainslie Majura and vicinity. The four records are widely dispersed in space and time: 1994 in suburb at Ainslie; 2018 droppings near Ainslie Drive; 2020 animal in its burrow on NE side of Majura; and your 2023 record. Only the 2020 one is clearly a resident animal.
Fifty years ago there were none because wombats had been extirpated from the city area but now in Canberra wombats are increasingly being reared in captivity. The few records at Ainslie Majura are consistent with occasional releases of hand reared wombats. In other mammal species, research shows that animals released by wildlife carers have low survival. And much of A-M is sub-optimal habitat for wombats. But the horse paddocks near your observation include ideal wombat habitat. It seems we are likely to eventually see a wild population of wombats at Ainslie Majura. Perhaps your observation is an early one of those?
Fifty years ago there were none because wombats had been extirpated from the city area but now in Canberra wombats are increasingly being reared in captivity. The few records at Ainslie Majura are consistent with occasional releases of hand reared wombats. In other mammal species, research shows that animals released by wildlife carers have low survival. And much of A-M is sub-optimal habitat for wombats. But the horse paddocks near your observation include ideal wombat habitat. It seems we are likely to eventually see a wild population of wombats at Ainslie Majura. Perhaps your observation is an early one of those?
natureguy
wrote:
19 May 2023
Hi @DonFletcher, unfortunately I don't have any photos but whilst on this topic you might be interested in a Wombat sighting I had sometime last year (don't remember the exact date) at night when leaving Canberra. It was right next to the road near the first big roundabout at Antill St and Federal Hwy, Watson. Thought it was a bit odd at the time but in line with this seems quite unusual. Thanks
abread111
wrote:
21 May 2023
About ideal wombat habitat: Where we lived in the hills near Nangus, we had wombats in what was very steep and generally rocky country, so I would not discount the possibility that wombats could live happily on Mt Majura-Ainslie in between the rocks.
DonFletcher
wrote:
22 May 2023
Hi @abread111, I agree wombats could live all over Ainslie-Majura. Food is generally what determines population density and there is more grass produced on lower slopes with higher fertility and deeper soil, so for want of better info, I see those areas as 'optimal' habitat. Mostly they are covered with houses or rural lease. The Hackett Horse Paddocks are one of the exceptions.
Benjob
wrote:
30 May 2023
Wombat is still around as of 27 may. I observed quite a lot of fresh wombat droppings around the verco st entrance to the reserve in hackett.
DonFletcher
wrote:
30 May 2023
So 9 days so far, that we know of. It would be interesting if we could tell if it survives until mid October. (Herbivores that do not get enough food tend to die in early spring, from the effects of winter so August and September are telling times.)
Benjob
wrote:
1 Jul 2023
July 1 update - Sighting of the resident? Hackett wombat last night, seems to live in a drain. Almost daily fresh poo around some native grasses we have planted.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.165397-35.240102
- Places Hackett, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 11 May 2023 10:20 PM Recorded on
- msietsma Recorded by
-
Collections
Significant sightings Mammals Wombats & Koalas msietsma
Additional information
- Unknown Gender
- Breeding behaviour
- Alive / healthy Animal health
- True Wombat has mange
Species information
- Vombatus ursinus Scientific name
- Common wombat, Bare-nosed Wombat Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1718.73m Recorded at altitude
- 224 images trained Machine learning
Record quality
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
