Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat

One of the world's rarest large mammals, this heavily built, burrowing marsupial is covered in soft grey-brown fur, with a broad muzzle fringed by fine hairs, a large naked nose pad, and powerful claws adapted for digging extensive burrow systems. Nocturnal and largely solitary, individuals spend most daylight hours underground, emerging at night to graze on native grasses. Their burrowing activity aerates and turns over soil, influencing local vegetation structure and providing shelter used by other species.

The species is restricted to a single wild population in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland, Australia, with an additional population established through translocation at Richard Underwood Nature Refuge. Its habitat centers on semi-arid grassland associated with inland wetland systems, particularly areas near permanent rivers and streams that support the deep, stable soils needed for burrow construction and reliable grass growth.

Historical range contraction was driven by competition with livestock for grazing land, alteration of fire regimes affecting grass availability, and predation pressure. Ongoing threats include continued impacts from cattle and sheep grazing on food resources, altered fire management, introduced predators and competing species, disease, and habitat degradation linked to past and present land use, including vegetation clearing.

Conservation efforts have included predator-proof fencing around core habitat, supplementary feeding during drought, translocation of individuals to establish a second, geographically separate population to reduce extinction risk from a single catastrophic event, and ongoing habitat and population monitoring.

The population is currently assessed as stable, reflecting the effectiveness of intensive, site-based management following the species' near-extinction in the twentieth century. Long-term security remains dependent on maintaining predator control, managing grazing pressure, and sustaining suitable habitat across both populations.