Friday 9 December 2011

A wombat in our backyard

Good evening.  It's not everyday that we are privileged to see a classic Australian animal in our backyard.  We did today.  Genevieve was putting the chooks to bed and when they weren't following her, she looked around and they were walking over to investigate a wombat eating grass in our backyard.  I ran outside, Genevieve got the chooks in bed and then as dog decided to investigate the wombat too, it got scared and promptly hid under the deck.

We decided to go inside hoping that it would come out of it's own accord which it did and then hid in the garden.
Although this photo is a little blurry, you can see his/her claws.

We obviously got too close and he/she went and hid under the deck again, so back inside we went.  A few minutes later our wombat was back on the grass tucking in for a good feed.  Hubby blocked off the gap under the deck so he couldn't get under again.

These photos were taken about 8.30p.m. and it seems our wombat is suffering from slight mange.

After this he/she decided to head off up through the back yard.  He walked within a metre of hubby (Genevieve got that on film) and pushed his way under the chook run fence and then up under the fence of our neighbours property..
In the chook run and using the flash as it is about 9.00p.m. now.

Making his way under the neighbours fence.
He's through!
We thought he was off following his trail to wherever.  Fifteen minutes later I heard a noise on the deck and there he was ambling across looking very much at home.  Outside we went again and he had disappeared under the deck as we had removed the barrier to the gap.  It looks like Sophie might be spending the night inside tonight instead of her kennel on the back deck.

Wombats can be quite nasty if they are feeling out of sorts and can cause injuries with their teeth, claws and sheer solidness of their body.  We were very careful to look for signs of agitation, but he was merrily going about is wombat business.

After the excitement of our wildlife encounter, I'd best finish packing my bag as Charlotte and I are off to the Gold Coast early tomorrow morning.

Bye for now,

Anne  xx

12 comments:

  1. Obviously not in a rush to move on, must be enjoying the lushness of the yard Anne.......
    Soe great photos, certainly makes a change from the usual Magpies and Parrots.

    You can see why they cause so much damage to fences etc. they are built like a Sherman tank, hehe.......

    Have a safe flight and enjoy your holiday,

    Claire :}

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  2. they were great photos I use to live in the country before moving to the big city and we use to have kangaroos and koalas all the time.

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  3. Blimey hadn't realised they were quite so big! Not sure if I'm envious or not - Aussie wildlife is quite exotic looking.

    We get grey squirrels in our back garden loads and sometimes muncjac deer too.

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  4. ooh I've never seen a real wombat before so I've enjoyed this post! I think I've said before i have a mini wombat soft toy which I stole from Dave, he calls in Morty, short for mortal wombat!

    Hope you enjoy your trip away... the weather here is quite grim so I think we'll be having a weekend indoors!

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  5. What an exciting time. Thank you for taking pictures of the wombat. What an unusual creature. He probably scratched the fur from his back squeezing under fences. Aren't they big and chunky?
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  6. From the first few photos I thought it was small like a kitten, but it's pretty big isn't it?

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  7. That is absolutely, positively awesome!
    I would LOVE to see a real life free-range wombat.
    I've only ever seen squashed ones on the road or zoo ones.
    Do you know that kid's book - Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French - it's brilliant.
    http://freefallingskyward.blogspot.com/2007/08/diarrhoea-of-wombat.html

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  8. Wow! Just great to see in your backyard a
    Wombat! So fantastic this wildlife encounter.
    Years ago I saw on Animal Planet (tv program) a documentary about this amazing creature.

    Wishing to you and Charlotte a wonderful time at Gold Coast!

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  9. Oh wow! I hadn't realised they were so big. What an amazing wildlife encounter. Your photo series made me feel like I was with you. Enjoy your holiday!

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  10. I have never seen a wombat before! Not what I was expecting - he's huge! x

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  11. Oh, lucky you. I love wombats though they are not always cuddly. They have sharp teeth and can bite I'm told.
    All our blogland friends from o/s will enjoy this post. Well done
    Cheers

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  12. I've already had heaps of comments about them I think they add a bit of fun and colour to the garden and they were such a good price too. My favourite part of the makeover for sure! fence cost

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