Common Wombat Life Cycle

Wombats are cute, furry little marsupials that look more like rodents than kangaroos. Unfortunately, there is surprisingly little information on the animals, despite their endangered status. The first step to conservation is education, so here are some facts about this marsupial's life cycle.

Pregnancy

Wombats usually only have one baby at a time. The gestation period is around 26 to 28 days.

Childhood

Wombats feed their young with the two teats in their pouch. The babies will stay in the rear-facing pouch for six or seven months. The pouches are unique among marsupials in that they are positioned in reverse, which allows the animals to dig without covering the baby and pouch in dirt.

Weaning

Wombats are weaned at around 15 months old. They will then move on to the adult vegetarian diet of grasses, herbs, bark and roots.

Sexual Maturity

Wombats will generally reach maturity at one-and-a-half to two years of age, when they will begin searching for a mate. They generally mate in the early spring.

Death

In the wild, wombats usually live around five years, but in captivity, they can live up to 26 years.

References

• Unique Australian Animals
• BBC Wildfacts