Only In Australia

This week's PhotoHunt theme is natural.

Wombats can be found only in Australia.  Unfortunately, they are rather timid and primarily nocturnal, so it is often difficult to observe them in their "natural" habitat. We were lucky enough to come across this guy in Tasmania when he ventured out on a cool afternoon for a feed.

The large, pudgy, burrowing mammals are found across south-eastern Australia and Tasmania. They have sharp claws that they use to dig burrows in open grasslands and eucalyptus forests. They can grow to be a meter in length and weigh between 17-40 kg.

They are marsupials and they give birth to tiny, undeveloped young that crawl into pouches on their mothers' bellies, where they will remain for about five months.  The pouch is different from other marsupials since they face backward so no dirt gets in when it is tunneling.

Wombats do not have many natural predators and man is their greatest enemy. Destruction of their natural habitat as well as hunting, trapping, and poisoning has severely reduced the wombat's population in many areas, and has completely eradicated it in others. In most parts of Australia the wombat is now protected, with the exception of parts of eastern Victoria where it is classified as vermin and often shot.