WOMBAT COMMUN MARSUPIAL AUSTRALIE
Le wombat est un marsupial qui vit dans les forêts montagneuses d’Australie, où il creuse de vastes terriers.
Les wombats ressemblent à de petits oursons bruns et massifs, à courtes pattes et à large tête. Le wombat mesure environ 1,20 m de long sur 70 cm de hauteur. La couleur du pelage des wombats peut être beige, brune, noire ou grise. Comme tous les marsupiaux, il possède une poche ventrale. La sienne comporte une seule paire de mamelles. Sa poche a aussi l'avantage, pour un fouisseur, d'être ouverte vers le bas afin que la terre n'y pénètre pas. Le wombat est doté d'un "bouclier", plaque osseuse située sur les fesses, sous la peau. Lorsqu'un prédateur le poursuit, il bouche l'entrée de son terrier avec son postérieur. Le wombat est herbivore, se nourrissant d’herbe, de racines, de champignons et d’écorces d’arbres. Ses dents ont une croissance continue, contrairement aux autres marsupiaux. Vivant dans des régions plutôt arides, le wombat peut rester plusieurs semaines sans boire d'eau. Cependant, lorsque la pluie tombe, il boit énormément. C'est un animal pesant de 15 à 40 kg.
Le wombat peut atteindre la vitesse de 40 km/h. C'est un animal plutôt solitaire et ne se sociabilise que pendant la période de reproduction afin de trouver un ou une partenaire. La femelle a une gestation d'environ un mois et ne donnera naissance qu'à un petit, ou dans de très rares cas à deux. A la naissance, le bébé wombat, appelé "joey" comme les bébés koala, ne mesure que trois centimètres et ne pèse qu'environ deux grammes. Il restera de 5 à 9 mois dans la poche de sa mère avant de s'ouvrir au monde extérieur. Durant cette période, il se nourrit uniquement du lait de sa mère. Une fois sorti de la poche maternelle, le wombat restera avec elle jusqu'à l'âge de deux ans environ. Généralement, les femelles restent plus de temps avec leur mère que les mâles.
Il en existe trois espèces de wombats :
Les wombats communs (Vombatus ursinus) vivent au Sud-Est de l'Australie et en Tasmanie.
Les wombats à museau poilu du nord (Lasiorhinus krefftii) vivent du côté de Queensland (il n'en restait qu'environ 70 dans la nature en 2006).
Les wombats à museau poilu du Sud (Lasiorhinus latifrons) vivent en Australie méridionale.
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Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia and are approximately 1 metre (40 in) in length, with short, stubby tails. All are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adaptable in habitat tolerance, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as an isolated patch of about 300 hectares (740 acres) in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland.
Les wombats communs (Vombatus ursinus) vivent au Sud-Est de l'Australie et en Tasmanie.
Les wombats à museau poilu du nord (Lasiorhinus krefftii) vivent du côté de Queensland (il n'en restait qu'environ 70 dans la nature en 2006).
Les wombats à museau poilu du Sud (Lasiorhinus latifrons) vivent en Australie méridionale.
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Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia and are approximately 1 metre (40 in) in length, with short, stubby tails. All are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adaptable in habitat tolerance, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as an isolated patch of about 300 hectares (740 acres) in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland.
Characteristics
Wombats dig extensive burrow systems with their rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. One distinctive adaptation of wombats is their backwards pouch. The advantage of a backwards-facing pouch is that when digging, the wombat does not gather soil in its pouch over its young. Although mainly crepuscular and nocturnal, wombats also venture out to feed on cool or overcast days. They are not commonly seen, but leave ample evidence of their passage, treating fences as minor inconveniences to be gone through or under, and leaving distinctive cubic faeces. Wombats are herbivores; their diets consist mostly of grasses, sedges, herbs, bark, and roots. Their incisor teeth somewhat resemble those of the placental rodents (rats, mice, etc.), being adapted for gnawing tough vegetation. Like many other herbivorous mammals, they have a large diastema between their incisors and the cheek teeth, which are relatively simple. Wombats' fur can vary from a sandy colour to brown, or from grey to black. All three known extant species average around a metre in length and weigh between 20 and 35 kg (44 and 77 lb). Female wombats give birth to a single young in the spring, after a gestation period, which like all marsupials can vary, in the case of the wombat: 20–21 days. They have well-developed pouches, which the young leave after about six to seven months. Wombats are weaned after 15 months, and are sexually mature at 18 months. A group of wombats is known as a "wisdom".
Wombats dig extensive burrow systems with their rodent-like front teeth and powerful claws. One distinctive adaptation of wombats is their backwards pouch. The advantage of a backwards-facing pouch is that when digging, the wombat does not gather soil in its pouch over its young. Although mainly crepuscular and nocturnal, wombats also venture out to feed on cool or overcast days. They are not commonly seen, but leave ample evidence of their passage, treating fences as minor inconveniences to be gone through or under, and leaving distinctive cubic faeces. Wombats are herbivores; their diets consist mostly of grasses, sedges, herbs, bark, and roots. Their incisor teeth somewhat resemble those of the placental rodents (rats, mice, etc.), being adapted for gnawing tough vegetation. Like many other herbivorous mammals, they have a large diastema between their incisors and the cheek teeth, which are relatively simple. Wombats' fur can vary from a sandy colour to brown, or from grey to black. All three known extant species average around a metre in length and weigh between 20 and 35 kg (44 and 77 lb). Female wombats give birth to a single young in the spring, after a gestation period, which like all marsupials can vary, in the case of the wombat: 20–21 days. They have well-developed pouches, which the young leave after about six to seven months. Wombats are weaned after 15 months, and are sexually mature at 18 months. A group of wombats is known as a "wisdom".
Ecology and behaviour
Wombats have an extraordinarily slow metabolism, taking around eight to 14 days to complete digestion, which aids their survival in arid conditions. They generally move slowly. When threatened, however, they can reach up to 40 km/h (25 mph) and maintain that speed for up to 90 seconds. Wombats defend home territories centred on their burrows, and they react aggressively to intruders. The common wombat occupies a range of up to 23 ha (57 acres), while the hairy-nosed species have much smaller ranges, of no more than 4 ha (10 acres). Dingos and Tasmanian devils prey on wombats. Extinct predators were likely to have included Thylacoleo and possibly the thylacine. Their primary defence is their toughened rear hide, with most of the posterior made of cartilage. This, combined with its lack of a meaningful tail, makes it difficult for any predator that follows the wombat into its tunnel to bite and injure its target. When attacked, wombats dive into a nearby tunnel, using their rumps to block a pursuing attacker. A wombat may allow an intruder to force its head over the wombat's back, and then use its powerful legs to crush the skull of the predator against the roof of the tunnel, or drive it off with two-legged kicks, like those of a donkey.
Species
The three living species of wombat all reside only in Australia. They are protected under Australian law.
Common wombat (Vombatus ursinus).
Northern hairy-nosed wombat or yaminon (Lasiorhinus krefftii).
Southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons).
Wombats have an extraordinarily slow metabolism, taking around eight to 14 days to complete digestion, which aids their survival in arid conditions. They generally move slowly. When threatened, however, they can reach up to 40 km/h (25 mph) and maintain that speed for up to 90 seconds. Wombats defend home territories centred on their burrows, and they react aggressively to intruders. The common wombat occupies a range of up to 23 ha (57 acres), while the hairy-nosed species have much smaller ranges, of no more than 4 ha (10 acres). Dingos and Tasmanian devils prey on wombats. Extinct predators were likely to have included Thylacoleo and possibly the thylacine. Their primary defence is their toughened rear hide, with most of the posterior made of cartilage. This, combined with its lack of a meaningful tail, makes it difficult for any predator that follows the wombat into its tunnel to bite and injure its target. When attacked, wombats dive into a nearby tunnel, using their rumps to block a pursuing attacker. A wombat may allow an intruder to force its head over the wombat's back, and then use its powerful legs to crush the skull of the predator against the roof of the tunnel, or drive it off with two-legged kicks, like those of a donkey.
Species
The three living species of wombat all reside only in Australia. They are protected under Australian law.
Common wombat (Vombatus ursinus).
Northern hairy-nosed wombat or yaminon (Lasiorhinus krefftii).
Southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons).