Bare-nosed Wombat, Common wombat at Hackett, ACT
Identification history
| Vombatus ursinus | 28 May 2026 | DonFletcher | ||
| Vombatus ursinus | 26 May 2026 | MichaelSaxon | ||
| Vombatus ursinus | 25 May 2026 | MichaelSaxon |
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User's notes
Wombat seen - no photo - scats detected next day
9 comments
waltraud
wrote:
26 May 2026
I saw scats 200-300m further north at the drainage line close to the water tank - unfortunately I didn't take a photo and current rain will probably wash it away...
DonFletcher
wrote:
28 May 2026
There has been a wombat in Ainslie Majura for about four or five years. Presumably it was released there by a wildlife carer. There were no signs of wombats before that at least as far back as the 1970s.
Like kangaroos, wombats were probably eliminated from the Limestone plains during the grazing era, until about the early 1950s when myxomatosis arrived, reducing the perceived value of rabbit proof fences and rabbiters with dog packs. Also there commenced a reduction in recreational and other shooting. In the last 50 years the ACT distribution of wombats has expanded noticeably and the activity of wildlife carers may have assisted in that.
Like kangaroos, wombats were probably eliminated from the Limestone plains during the grazing era, until about the early 1950s when myxomatosis arrived, reducing the perceived value of rabbit proof fences and rabbiters with dog packs. Also there commenced a reduction in recreational and other shooting. In the last 50 years the ACT distribution of wombats has expanded noticeably and the activity of wildlife carers may have assisted in that.
MichaelSaxon
wrote:
28 May 2026
Thought that might be the case Don (with regard to it being a release). Interesting I have been wandering Majura for 30 years now and never seen signs of them/it. One is occasionally seen near the AFP compound in the Majura Valley
waltraud
wrote:
28 May 2026
There was a CNM sighting by S. Bittinger of a wombat sitting in front of its borrow on the east slope of Mt Majura. That was years ago, but I can't find the sighting in the CNM Wombat collection. The borrow had been destroyed by building illegal BMX bike tracks and jumps. Occasional sightings of wombats wandering around Hackett and by workers of the company who installed a gas pipe under the Blue Metal road on the west slope of Mt Majura more than 10 years ago but not reported on CNM.
DonFletcher
wrote:
29 May 2026
Thanks for the reminder Waltraud. I was semi-automatically repeating a comment I have made previously, and had temporarily forgotten about the earlier records, including ones from within the suburb. I have discounted the earlier ones as being failed releases by carers, or escapes from carers. But for the last few years there have been more consistent records, as if this animal is surviving and persisting. An interesting aspect is how rarely the animal itself is sighted (as opposed to droppings, diggings or camera trap images). I cant recall any actual sighting so far. Same with Sanbar deer, though it is uncertain that they are permanently resident, unlike the wombat.
DonFletcher
wrote:
29 May 2026
MichaelSaxon how many Rosenberg's Goannas in those years at Ainslie-Majura?
MichaelSaxon
wrote:
29 May 2026
Don, I saw the wombat go down a drain. Happy to share the location with you if you interested. I have visited it a few times over the last few days but not at emergence time. Might sit and wait this weekend.
DonFletcher
wrote:
29 May 2026
I will be interested if you post it to Nature Mapper. Most records in recent years have been toward the northern (Majura) end with only two records at the southern end of Ainslie Majura
MichaelSaxon
wrote:
29 May 2026
Don - only ever seen the one Ros that we discussed earlier this year but I spend the majority of my time on west face of Majura. Only occasionally go into Ainslie.
Location information
- Maps Mount Majura
- Places Hackett, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- MichaelSaxon Recorded by
-
Collections
MichaelSaxon NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Vombatus ursinus Wombats & Koalas Mammals
Species information
- Vombatus ursinus Scientific name
- Bare-nosed Wombat, Common wombat Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1718.73m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
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