Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat

Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat, Adelaide Zoo

The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat can be found within about an hour’s drive of my home. Despite having driven in that area many times over the  last three decades, I’ve only ever seen one in its natural habitat on a handful of occasions. Being nocturnal accounts for the main reason for not having seen it more often.

Mind you, I’d rather not encounter this lovely animal on a dark night on a lonely country road. I’ve almost hit one while driving along late at night and would rather not do so. Not only would a car fatally wound a wombat (which is something I’d hate), but the car would not be in a good state after a collision with one of these solid, dumpy animals. It would be like hitting a rock.

This species is also found in other parts of southern South Australia and Western Australia. See the photo below for more information. There are two other species of wombat: the Common Wombat and the Northern Hairy-nosed wombat, the latter being critically endangered.

Further reading:

  • Wombat – information on the Adelaide Zoo website.

Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat, Adelaide Zoo

Binturong in the Adelaide Zoo

Binturong at the Adelaide Zoo

Binturong at the Adelaide Zoo

I enjoy visiting zoos and take every opportunity to visit the Adelaide Zoo where I am a member. I usually take a great interest in the birds on display so I can show my photos of them on my birding blog (click  here).

I don’t only have eyes for the birds. I enjoy looking at and photographing the animals too. On a recent visit earlier this year to the Adelaide Zoo I saw a Binturong for the very first time. I don’t think I’ve seen one before, and I can’t recall even reading about this carnivorous animal from SE Asia. Because it is also nocturnal, it could be that it has been asleep on every other visit.

Whatever the reason, this one was out in full view in the late afternoon. I took the opportunity to get some good shots, including the information board in front of the enclosure (click on the image to enlarge).

To read more about this vulnerable animal click here.

You can also read more about zoos from around the world on my son’s site called Zoo Chat (click here). This site covers nearly 1000 zoos and includes over 100,000 photos of animals.

Binturong at the Adelaide Zoo

Binturong at the Adelaide Zoo

Binturong at the Adelaide Zoo

Binturong at the Adelaide Zoo

Binturong at the Adelaide Zoo

Binturong at the Adelaide Zoo