The northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii) or yaminon is one of three extant species of Australian marsupials known as wombats. It is one of the rarest land mammals in the world and is critically endangered. Its historical range previously extended across New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, and as recently as 100 years ago it was considered extinct. In the 1930s, 30 individuals were discovered in a 3 km2 (1.2 sq mi) range within the 32 km2 (12 sq mi) Epping Forest National Park in Queensland. In 2002, with the species threatened by wild dogs, the Queensland Government built a 20-kilometre (12 mi)-long predator-proof fence around all wombat habitat at Epping Forest National Park. Insurance populations have since been translocated to two other locations to ensure that the species survives threats such as fire, flood, or disease. In 2003, the total population consisted of 113 individuals, including only around 30 breeding females. After recording an estimated 230 individuals in 2015, the number was up to over 300 by 2021, and over 400 by 2024.
Taxonomy English naturalist Richard Owen described the species in 1873. The genus name Lasiorhinus comes from the Latin words lasios, meaning hairy or shaggy, and rhinus, meaning nose. The widely accepted common name is northern hairy-nosed wombat, based on the historical range of the species, as well as the fur, or "whiskers", on its nose. In some older literature, it is referred to as the Queensland hairy-nosed wombat. The northern hairy-nosed wombat shares its genus with one other extant species, the southern hairy-nosed wombat, while the common wombat is in the genus Vombatus. Both Lasiorhinus species differ morphologically from the common wombat by their silkier fur, broader hairy noses, and longer ears.
Description In general, all species of wombat are heavily built, with large heads and short, powerful legs. They have strong claws to dig their burrows, where they live much of the time. It usually takes about a day for an individual to dig a burrow. Northern hairy-nosed wombats have bodies covered in soft, grey fur. The fur on their noses sets them apart from the common wombat. They have longer, more pointed ears and a much broader muzzle than the other two species. Individuals can be 35 cm high, up to 1 m long and weigh up to 40 kg. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, with females being somewhat larger than males due to the presence of an extra layer of fat. They are slightly larger than the common wombat and able to breed somewhat faster, giving birth to two young every three years on average. The northern hairy-nosed wombat's nose is very important in its survival because it has very poor eyesight, so it must detect its food in the dark through smell. Examination of the wombat's digestive tract shows that the elastic properties of the ends of their large intestines are capable of turning liquid excrement into cubical scat.
Distribution and habitat Northern hairy-nosed wombats require deep sandy soils in which to dig their burrows, and a year-round supply of grass, which is their primary food. These areas usually occur in open eucalypt woodlands. At Epping Forest National Park, northern hairy-nosed wombats construct their burrows in deep, sandy soils on levée banks which were deposited by a creek that no longer flows through the area. They forage in areas of heavy clay soils adjacent to the sandy soils, but do not dig burrows in these areas, which become waterlogged in the wet seasons. In the park, burrows are often associated with native Lysiphyllum hookeri trees. This tree has a spreading growth form, and its roots probably provide stability for the extensive burrows dug by the wombats. By the 1980s the range of the northern hairy-nosed wombat had become restricted to a single site of about 300 hectares (740 acres) in the Epping National Forest in east-central Queensland, 120 kilometres (75 mi) north-west of Clermont. Insurance populations have been established at two locations near St George, at the 130 ha (320 acres) Richard Underwood Nature Refuge in 2009, and in the 2,800 ha (6,900 acres) Powrunna State Forest in 2024, with plans for a fourth site by 2041.
Behaviour The northern hairy-nosed wombat is nocturnal, living underground in networks of burrows. They avoid coming above ground during harsh weather, as their burrows maintain a constant humidity and temperature. They have been known to share burrows with up to 10 individuals, equally divided by sex. Young are usually born during the wet season, between November and April. When rain is abundant, 50–80% of the females in the population will breed, giving birth to one offspring at a time. Juveniles stay in their mothers' pouches for 8 to 9 months, and are weaned at 12 months of age. The fat reserves and low metabolic rate of this species permit northern hairy-nosed wombats to go without food for several days when food is scarce. Even when they do feed every day, it is only for 6 hours a day in the winter and 2 hours in the summer, significantly less than a similar-sized kangaroo, which feeds for at least 18 hours a day. Their diet consists of native grasses: black speargrass (Heteropogon contortus), bottle washer grasses (Enneapogon spp.), golden beard grass (Chrysopogon fallax), and three-awned grass (Aristida spp.), as well as various types of roots. Their teeth continue to grow beyond the juvenile period, and are worn down by the abrasive grasses they eat. Its habitat has become infested with African buffel grass, a grass species introduced for cattle grazing. The grass outcompetes the more nutritional and native grasses on which the wombat prefers to feed by limiting its quantity, forcing the wombat to travel further to find the native grasses it prefers, and leading to a reduction in biomass.
Conservation
Status The conservation status of the northern hairy-nosed wombat is as follows:
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