Wombats (Vombatus and Lasiorhinus spp.) Fact Sheet: Managed Care

• Common wombat
  • Most common wombat species in zoos worldwide, but few specimens in North America
  • First zoo-kept individuals on record: Paris, 1803 (Jackson 2003)
    • 3 common wombats brought to France by explorer Nicholas Baudin, kept in Natural History Museum zoological gardens
  • 4 individuals in North American zoos as of December 2012
    • Albuquerque BioPark Zoo - Vombatus ursinus tasmaniensis
    • San Diego Zoo - Vombatus ursinus ursinus (Bon voyage wombats)
• Southern hairy-nosed wombat
  • Less common in zoos worldwide
  • Current North American captive management/breeding program began at Brookfield Zoo in 1969 (Brown 2011)
    • 10 individuals in North American zoos as of 2012
      • Brookfield Zoo, Memphis Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Toronto Zoo
    • Gene pool very limited
    • Successful breeding pairs: Brookfield Zoo, San Diego Zoo
• Northern hairy-nosed wombat
  • Not held in any institution as of December 2012
  • Few specimens ever kept in managed care due to low numbers in wild and difficulties in husbandry (Banks, Horsup et al. 2003)
    • 3 captured by farmer in 1967, kept as pets - female "Joan" lived 27 years in managed care (Jackson 2003)

• Compatibility (Jackson 2003)
  • Housing in groups or with other species not recommended, due to aggressive behavior
    • Common wombats typically held solitarily or as pairs
    • Southern hairy-nosed wombats preferably held as pairs or small group
• Diet in managed care (Jackson 2003)
  • Low energy, low protein diet primarily based on grass
  • Tendency to become obese in managed care due to extremely low basal metabolic rate
• Behavioral enrichment (Jackson 2003; Treby 2005)
  • Browse, tussock grasses, scattered food
  • Adequate, soft soil for natural digging behaviors
  • Scratching brush on tree
  • Items to climb in and on (cardboard food dispenser, wheelbarrow, garbage bin, etc.)
• Breeding in managed care (Jackson 2003)
  • Most captive wombats are hand-reared orphans
  • Have not bred routinely in managed care, but some successes
  • Contributors to successful breeding
    • Large enclosure
    • Large amounts of fresh grass prior to breeding season (hairy-nosed wombats)
  • Estrous cycle tracking and assisted breeding technologies
    • Semen collection and storage methods (McCallum & Johnson 2005; Rodger et al. 2009)
    • Artificial insemination protocol (McCallum 2005)
  • Young should be removed at 20-28 mo old, prior to mother's next estrus and increasing aggressiveness
• Rearing by keepers (Jackson 2003)
  • Commonly done for common and southern hairy-nosed wombats
  • Diet and other requirements described by Jackson (2003)

A young wombat at the San Diego Zoo.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

Banks, Horsup et al. (2003)
Brown (2011)
Jackson (2003)
McCallum (2005)
McCallum & Johnson (2005)
Rodger et al. (2009)
Treby (2005)