Habitat of the Common WombatThe main habitat for the common wombat is in temperate covered areas in southeast Australia; the wombats try to avoid rain-forests and are often found in mountainous areas. In the southern parts of Queensland and the northern parts of New South Wales the common wombat is located only in sclerophyll (a woody plant with green leaves which are thick and tough to prevent water loss) forest that are 600m above ground level. In South Australia and Tasmania the wombat appears in lower altitudes and often in places of open vegetation such as woodlands. In the summer when the temperatures become exceedingly high, between 30-40 degrees Celsius, the common wombat remains in its burrow where temperatures rarely exceed 27 degrees Celsius. The wombat only comes out of its burrow when temperatures are close to the burrows temperature. In the winter when temperatures can get as low as 0 degrees Celsius, the common wombat stays in its burrow for most of the time conserving energy. In an experiment conducted the average time the common wombat spends outside its burrow in summer is 8 hours and in winter only 5 hours.
|
Rhythmic Behaviour |
The common wombat is one of the few marsupials that are active above the snowline in winter. In summer the common wombat is mainly nocturnal appearing out if its burrow when the temperature cools down avoiding the high temperatures. Wombats spend about two-thirds of their life in burrows.
|