Wombat Worries

Sunset over Tasmania

We arrived in Tasmania after the 9-1/2-hour-long ferry trip around 6:30 in the evening.  Thankfully, David had booked a RV park reservation for us very close to the ferry landing.  After our harrowing escape from Melbourne, we were exhausted.

The next morning, we traveled east along the island road.  Tassie (short for Tasmania and spelled the British way... it would be Tazie in the US), looked to be beautiful.  We found a free camp and enjoyed a glorious sunset.

In the morning, we found scores of black swans along the inlet and a few pelicans.

Black Swans in Tasmania

We continued our travels through the town of Launceston.  We hiked several miles along a promising track near the gorge but ultimately had to turn back because of my hip.  I was frustrated, to say the least.

We are now on a hunt for wombats.  We have found them along the roadside... dead.  They appear to be great, fuzzy pigs with claws.  I know that they are marsupials, nocturnal, and burrowing animals. They can weigh up to 85 pounds.  I want to see some up close and personal... and, most importantly, alive.

David poured through all the literature we had gathered and found a holiday park touting wildlife, including wombats, near us.  Their advertisements included photos of wombats and Tasmanian Devils wandering through their campsites.  We just had to go.  So we headed toward the Big 4 Kelso Sands RV Park, near the Narawntapu National Park.

There we met Barbara Ridley and learned the sordid story about wombats in the area.  She explained that her wombats are under attack, and she fears their extinction.  The wombats in this area have become ravaged by sarcoptic mange, probably transmitted by an ill-kept dog.  Rather than treat the infected animals, however, the State has issued permits for landowners to kill on sight.  Every cull permit is a license to kill 50 wombats... even healthy ones.  Parks and Wildlife employees often kill infected wombats to "relieve them of their misery."  And these animals are slow producers, often having only one offspring every two years.

We learned that the disease is treatable, and the treatment is affordable.  Barbara is one of the area's Wombat Warriors, fighting to save these wonderful creatures.

Treating infected wombats is not easy.  Wombats do not do well in captivity.  Once captured for treatment from the mange, they often go into shock and die.  So they must be treated in their natural habitat.  If they are not treated within the first three months of infection, the wombats often die.  The problem is compounded because wombats often share burrows and the mange parasite can live up to 21 days in their burrows without a host.

Kelso residents have rallied to save their wombats.  They pour mange-killing medication into a bottle cap (preferably milk or fruit juice), and place it over the entrance to a wombat burrow.  The medication is then tipped over onto the wombat's back as it enters or exits its burrow.  A wombat must receive at least twelve of these treatments to combat the disease.

Barbara told us that her infected wombats have lost their nocturnal nature, preferring the warmth of daylight.  They also seem to have lost their hearing and sight.  With those animals, she uses a pole to administer the proper medication dosage.

Barbara gave us a campsite near "wombat hollow" near where the healthy wombats come to feed on her lawn each evening.  We set up camp and soon encountered "Harry," grazing near us.  He was obviously infected with mange.  We only hope his treatment was soon enough.  We watched him scratch and itch until we were joining him.

Harry, the mange-infested wombat

As evening settled over our camp, a healthy wombat ventured out from Wombat Hallow.  Although the light was waning fast, we did manage to take a few blurry photos.

Wombat, near Kelso, Tasmania

Later that evening, we took our final walk to the bathrooms and found the campsite full of wombats and pademelons (miniature wallabies).

The following morning, we took a stroll through Wombat Hallow and discovered several wombat burrows.

Wombat burrow

Wombat Hallow

Hopefully Barbara and her fellow Wombat Warriors will have great success saving these amazing creatures.  Our prayers are with you all.