Humans aren’t the only species who like to build their homes near waterways. Floodwaters devastating the state are also displacing wildlife including wombats.
Lecturer in veterinary and animal physiology Dr Hayley Stannard said wombats liked to create burrows near river banks and that it put them – and particularly their young – at risk during floods.
“The soil in those areas is soft and really nice for them to burrow into,” she said. “They tend to climb out of burrows and try to find higher ground when it’s dry. The older animals tend to be switched on, but sometimes the younger ones aren’t as knowledgeable, so they tend to drown when they get stuck.”
Yolandi Vermaak, the founder and president of Wombat Rescue NSW and ACT, has taken calls recently about wombats being seen on tennis courts, in sheds and under cars – a 10 per cent increase on what she usually receives.
“Wombats don’t hop away like kangaroos,” she said. “And when their burrows are flooded, it pushes them into other wombat territory where they fight quite severely, or into suburban areas and around busy roads.”
Wombats are unable to sweat, which means they’re at risk of overheating in summer months when they don’t have their burrow to shelter in.