General Information about the Wombat
Wombats belong to the taxonomic family Vombatidae, and include the species
Vombatus
ursinis (the common
wombat) as well as Lasiorhinus
krefftii and Lasiorhinus latifrons (the Northern
and Southern Hairy-nosed wombats). For additional reading, please take
a look at this page
from the Australian Nature Conservation Agency. A distribution
map of wombat
sightings can be generated here, just enter Vombatus as the Genus and
ursinus as the species. NOT FOR THE QUEASY: If you want to
get to know wombats from the inside out, there are web pages with pictures
of wombat
brains or wombat
skulls (if you have the proper plug-in, you can even see rotating
wombat skulls (try here for another
view)). Rotating Wombat Skulls... is that a great name for a
band, or what?
Early Descriptions of the Wombat
What is a wombat? Some of the original western accounts describe it as
follows:
"This little bear-like quadruped is known in New South Wales, and called
by the natives 'womat', 'wombat', or 'womback', according to the different
dialects, or perhaps to the different renderings of the wood rangers who
brought the information... It burrows like the badger." (M. Flinders, Voyage
to Terra Australis, 1814, p. 135.)
Other accounts went on to describe it as "...a squat, thick, short-legged,
and rather inactive quadruped, with great appearance of stumpy strength,
and somehwat bigger than a large turnspit dog." (D. Collins, Account
of New South Wales, 1802, vol. 2, p. 153.)
Later reports emphasised its pig-like qualities, saying that "...it
makes a noise, when attacked in its hole, something similar to the grunting
of a pig" (G.H. Haydon, Five Years in Australia Felix, 1846, p.
58), or even that "Its flesh has in taste a resemblance to pork."! (History
of New South Wales, 1818, p. 431).
This curious amalgam is summed up by the description "The wombat resembles
a large badger in the shortness of its legs, but has a little of the pig
and the bear in its shape, hair and movements." (W. Howitt, Two Years
in Victoria, 1855, vol. 1, p. 211.)
Wombats and Librarians: What's the connection?
Unbeknownst to me at the time that my peculiar interest in wombat's began,
the wombat is the official mascot of the STUMPERS-L
mailing list for difficult-to-answer reference questions. This was hardly
surprising (...that I didn't know about it, not that the wombat is their
mascot... whether that is surprising or not, I leave to you) as
my interest in the trundling marsupials began before I even knew I was
going to be a librarian. But soon after I began my employment as a reference
librarian, some colleagues pointed this out to me, assuming that what where
I had taken my moniker from. And now, I discover that the Stumpers-L wombat
has it's own page. I
leave you to explore it. Meanwhile, in California, Earl
the Wombat helps out with the SF Bay Area ASIS (American Society for
Information Science) Student Chapter.
WWW = World Wide Wombats?
Librarians are not the only persons on the web obsessed with wombats. Here
are a few links to other Wombatophiles' pages. This
page in Japan is one of the best compendia of info on the merry marsupial.
Some informative pages to visit (though they lack other links to explore)
are Wonderful
Wombats, this page
from Tasmania (with a quicktime movie), or this one from the
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (Southern
Hairy Nosed as well). Earth Sanctuaries Limited has information about
orphaned wombats raised by humans.
Dave in Oxford
and Seth Taplin (a.k.a.
the Wombat of Love) are clearly obsessed with wombats, but others have
gone over the edge... Wombats!
aptly illustrates this point. Some have elevated this humble marsupial
to the level of a diety, replete with its own sacred
writings. Obviously, the wombat-lovers' pages on the net are a motley
lot... lending credence to the definition among computer circles of a WOMBAT.
And finally: Wombats in Space
No, they aren't that big... (well, their ancestors were, but that's
another story). The fact is, they may not be big, but they sure leave a
mark on their environment. See this article from NASA
to read more.
Late breaking news!!! Maybe they are that big. A new galaxy, Wombat
I, has been detected.
Go back to Wade's homepage.
Go
to the University of Toledo Libraries' Home Page
Wade M. Lee (wlee@utnet.utoledo.edu)
Last Revised: 14 January 1999