What eats a wombat?

Answer 1

Wombats are herbivorous marsupials, feeding mostly on grasses as well as other vegetation, such as herbs, bark, roots and sedges. Their strong teeth enable them to chew through tough vegetation, and they are one of very few animals besides the koala known to eat eucalyptus leaves (but which are not their food of choice).
They are grazers, their diet consists of various kinds of grasses.

Answer 2

Apart from human intrusion into their environment, their only natural predator is the dingo, but introduced species like dogs, cats and foxes can also hunt them for food. Aborigines also hunted wombats for food.

Answer 3

Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat (aka Queensland Hairy-nosed Wombat, Yaminon)

Scientific name: Lasiorhinus krefftii

National conservation status: Endangered (likely to become extinct if threats continue)

Size: 35 cm high, 1100 mm long

Weight: up to 35 kg (Females slightly heavier than males)

Diet: Native grasses

Habitat: Semi-arid open woodland The curious name comes from its distinctive muzzle which is covered with short brown hairs. It is strong and heavily built, with short, powerful legs and strong claws that are used to dig burrows or search for suitable plants to eat. Its fur is soft, silky, and mainly brown, mottled with grey, fawn and black. It has a broad head, and the ears are long and slightly pointed with tufts of white hair on the edges. The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat gives birth to one young during the wet season (November - April). The young stay in the mothers pouch for eight to nine months. They leave their mother at about 15 months. Common Wombat

Scientific name: Vombatus ursinis

National conservation status: Secure

Size: 900-1150 mm long

Weight: 22-39 kg

Diet: Native grasses, sedges, rushes, shrub and tree roots

Habitat: Eucalypt forest, open woodland, coastal scrub and heath The Common Wombat occurs in southeastern Australia. It has coarser hair, a smaller tail and shorter, more rounded ears than the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat. It is nocturnal during the summer, but in winter it often comes out of its burrow during the day. Common Wombats breed at any time of the year. They live to 15 years in the wild, and up to 20 years in captivity. Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat

Scientific name: Lasiorhinus latifrons

National conservation status: Secure in restricted area

Size: 770-934 mm long

Weight: 19-32 kg

Diet: Prefer young shoots of native grasses

Habitat: Eucalypt and acacia woodland, shrubland and heath The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat species occurs in parts of southern South Australia, southeastern Western Australia and western Victoria. It is the smallest of the three wombats in Australia has red-brown fur and a shorter face. The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat breeds from late September through to December.

Answer 4

Wombats are completely herbivorous. They are grazers and their diet consists of grasses including snow tussocks for the Common wombat, and spear grass for the Southern Hairy-nosed wombat; herbs, roots including roots of grasses, bushes and trees, fungi including mushrooms and puffballs, shrubs, bark, especially the inner bark of certain trees, mosses, leaves, and marsh plants. Wombats tend to prefer young tender grass shoots when available. Moss also seems to be a favorite food. Common wombats will also forage for food along the seashore. Additionally, wombats will sometimes eat farm vegetables. The Southern hairy-nosed wombat prefers perennial grasses, especially the stipa species. During droughts they may eat bluebush and bindyi. The Northern Hairy-nosed wombat's favorite grasses are spear grass, tussock grass, and poa grass. They rarely eat weeping grass and reed bent grass. During times of drought or shortage, wombats will dig up the dead grass to get the roots. Since the wombat's diet is nutritionally poor, low in protein and high in fibre, they must conserve as much energy as possible. One of the ways they do this is by having a very low metabolic rate. Southern hairy-nosed wombats have an especially low metabolism. Additionally, wombats have a more efficient digestive system than other grazing animals such as kangaroos, sheep, or cattle. Relative to its size, the wombat eats very little, only a third as much as a comparably sized kangaroo and a quarter as much as a similar-sized sheep. Since they eat so little, they do not have to spend a great deal of their time foraging. The Common wombat will graze about 3 to 8 hours per night. The Northern hairy-nosed wombat feeds for about 2 hours each night in the summer, and 6 hours in the winter. An equivalently sized kangaroo feeds for 10 to 18 hours each day. In the wet season, a Northern hairy-nosed wombat's feeding range is about 3 ha (7.5 acres), and in the dry season, it's about 6 ha (15 acres). Northern hairy-nosed wombats prefer the leaves of grasses to the stems which are more nutritious.

Another source says that the average feeding range of a wombat is about 10-20 hectares (25-37 acres) depending on the quality of the area. Food passes through a wombat's digestive system slowly, 8 to 14 days, which enables them to extract the maximum amount of nutrients. Wombats also limit their water loss, so they can go for a long time without drinking water. By staying in their burrow during the heat of the day, they help to conserve water. They require less water than almost any other mammal. They only need about 20% of a sheep's water requirement, and 25% of a kangaroo's. Because Hairy-nosed wombats live in very dry climates, often the only water they'll get is from the plants they eat. They also get some water from dew. They can go for many weeks, perhaps months, without drinking. After a rain, they tend to drink quite a lot. Common wombats, on the other hand, do like to drink frequently.

Answer 5

Usually plants, especially herbs, grass and roots.

Answer 6

Wombats are grazing animals, feeding on grasses and sedges. They are crepuscular, meaning they are more likely to feed in the early morning or evening.