Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat - Status

Status

The southern hairy-nosed wombat is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN because "While there are sporadic outbreaks of sarcoptic mange, competition with introduced herbivores, susceptibility to drought, and severe fragmentation in parts of its range, the species has a wide distribution, large population, occurs in a number of protected areas, and it is unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to qualify for listing in a threatened category". Wombats were hunted by aboriginal people for their meat. However, capturing a wombat takes considerable time and energy, so they were not hunted too frequently. The indigenous people of Australia value the wombat culturally and keep their local wombat populations healthy by hunting wombats in other areas.

Wombats have been considered as agricultural pests by landholders. Their digging can destroy crops and can increase the risk of livestock breaking their legs by falling though their burrow systems. Competition between livestock, rabbits, and wombats can lead to overgrazing. Overgrazing and the spread of invasive weeds in some areas has led to the flora being dominated by annual grass and weed species, from which wombats cannot get enough of their metabolic needs, resulting in reports of emaciation and mass starvation. The competition from introduced rabbits threaten their survival of wombats.