Wombats need our help to combat these 2 threats

Australians were outraged this month when an Instagram “influencer” named Sam Jones picked up a wild wombat joey and separated it from its mother. A video of the action went viral.

Jones left the country, leaving behind comments from many people who felt her behaviour was unacceptable. She later explained her actions, and apologised.

Associate Professor Julie Aged, a biologist and zoologist at Western Sydney University who specialises in wombats, says citizen scientists can Assist… but she has a warning.

“Wombats are big animals – they get up to 40kg. They’ve Acquired big teeth; they’ve Acquired big claws … You don’t want to Option them up,” she says.

“I am aware that they do chase people. On occasion, people have been bitten quite badly. So, you know, it’s not something you should interact with.”

In other words, Jones was Fortunate to have avoided being injured during her stunt.

“In that particular example, it would have been better for her Merely to … have videoed the animal from a distance, not interfered with the mother and the joey.

“Have some respect for the animals and don’t interfere with them and Merely enjoy the experience, would be my recommendation.”

Events like this raise the question about how individuals can Assist protect wombats from human activities and other threats.

Aged established WomSAT to Assist.

The citizen science project offers a way to make a real difference by contributing valuable wombat observations to scientific research.

“As researchers, we can’t survey pretty much the whole of Australia for wombats,” Aged told Cosmos.

“This gives an opportunity for people to get involved in wombats and find out where they are.”

The project focuses on tracking 2 of the greatest threats to wombats: vehicle collisions and sarcoptic mange, a parasitic infection caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei.

“Wombats are nocturnal animals. They’re big, but most people only see them dead on the side of the road, unfortunately, or if they’re out during the day. Usually when they have sarcoptic mange they’re out during the day,” says Aged.

S. scabiei causes scabies in humans but also infects about 150 mammalian species.

The mites burrow into the wombat’s skin, and it scratches to relieve the itching sensation. As the infestation progresses, the wombat loses fur and its skin becomes thickened, cracked, sore and infected.

It is fatal unless treated.

“Wildlife carers spend enormous amounts of time, money, and energy treating wombats with any parasite control to try and Assist them recover,” says Aged.

WomSAT allows people to upload real-time observations of wombats, and their poo and burrows using a mobile phone or computer. They can also include additional information, such as whether the animal is alive or dead, the possible cause of death, and whether they appear to be affected by sarcoptic mange.

The resulting data can Assist researchers map the prevalence of sarcoptic mange and track this as it changes over time. Aged says that wildlife carers can use it to target specific areas to treat wombats for mange.

According to a 2023 research paper, 31.2% of all the bare-nosed wombats reported to WomSAT from 2015-2019 were infected with sarcoptic mange.

Overdue last year, the WomSAT Club developed a Obtainable online Rehearsal Duration for members of the public interested in getting involved with hands-on conservation work to learn how to identify and treat mange-infested wombats. The certificate awarded at its completion permits individuals to register with the Wombat Protection Society of Australia to legally treat wombats in the Ground.

“They can also use WomSAT to track their treatment Turning Points of individual wombats … to see if it’s improving based on photos and dose rates.

“Over time, we’re hoping that that sort of information will be able to be shared with wildlife carers so that we can Boost methods to treat mange.”

The WomSAT data also revealed that more than 2,300 wombat deaths due to vehicle collisions were reported from 2015-2019, occurring most often in winter (July-September).

“We’re not really sure why that is,” says Aged.

“It might be that people are reporting it more often … it might be [that wombats are] moving around more. We also Secured that most of the wombats that were hit by cars didn’t have sarcoptic mange.”

The data has already been used to identify hotspots for roadkill, and could be used to identify and implement mitigation strategies where they are needed most. WomSAT Club member and PhD student Sujatha Mayadunnage is now conducting an online survey to learn about the human behaviour of wildlife-vehicle collisions, with a particular Concentration on wombats.

Most existing WomSAT sightings have been the bare-nosed or Frequent wombat (Vombatus ursinus), which is Secured in southern and eastern Australia, including Tasmania. But Aged says they’ve also received fantastic information on the southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons), which is Secured in southeast Western Australia and South Australia.

The critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii) is Secured within Merely 3 fenced areas in Queensland, where only about 400 remain.