A wombat that digs underground burrows in dry southern Australia.
It has a stocky body and short powerful legs. Soft hair covers the nose, and the coat is grey to tan.
Wombat warrens also differ below ground. At Kooloola Station in South Australia’s Murraylands, researchers monitored eight burrows across soil types for 16 months in 2022–23. Sheet-calcrete burrows were deeper than those in clay or mixed soils and stayed cooler and more temperature-stable in summer–autumn. Wombat activity was higher there then, but the difference disappeared in winter–spring, when shallower burrows may be more habitable.
During severe spring drought, activity peaked earlier, including in daylight above 30°C. The authors suggested thermoregulation but also raised concern about heat exposure. With only eight monitored burrows at one site, the pilot could not determine whether these conditions improved survival or breeding. Population counts alone miss these patterns.
IUCN Red List · Least Concern (LC) · Global species-level assessment
The global IUCN assessment dated 19 November 2024 lists the southern hairy-nosed wombat as Least Concern, with an increasing population trend. It also says total abundance is poorly resolved and trends are not known for every subpopulation. At one Murraylands site in South Australia, the IUCN account reports an approximately 80% decline after the Millennium Drought with no recovery. A 1993–2024 study at Kooloola Station also found declining adult body condition and a lower proportion of females breeding as rainfall declined. The assessment identifies prolonged drought, habitat degradation and conflict with farming as continuing concerns. The assessment records a range-wide increase alongside drought-linked local decline.