Talk:Common wombat

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Wombat Bear?

Why was vombatus ursinus chosen as its name? 118.90.65.2 (talk) 12:15, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Changing photos of the wrong wombat species

No big deal but I just thought that the 2 out of 3 images of the southern hairy nosed rather than the common should be changed (although the last one does look comoon too) seeing that this is a common wombat article (and I can recognize the latter very well). Since they are prevalent on my property and a local camping ground and sometimes there during the daytime which is rarer I might see what I can do about some more pics if there is genuine interest. (Fortunately and unfortunately at the same time: the NPWS here had to shoot several there before because they were inundated with dog mange and very poorly and uncomfortable animals! (It is an atrocious disease as any human who has ever had scabies can attest to and these animals had 25% or so of body covered in hardened elephant like skins as a result of it and I can assure you they appreciated the euthenasia.) Now that the new tenants in the area (I mean the new wombats of course) are good healthy specimens, and the importance of banning dogs at the campsite - which deliver the mange - has been advertized, there might be an opportunity to take some good photos! Kind Regards 122.148.41.172 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 11:37, 3 November 2010 (UTC).

More photos would always be very welcome! Chipmunkdavis (talk) 07:07, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

File:Vombatus ursinus -Maria Island National Park.jpg to appear as POTD soon

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Vombatus ursinus -Maria Island National Park.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on July 23, 2011. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2011-07-23. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page so Wikipedia doesn't look bad. :) Thanks! howcheng {chat} 17:06, 21 July 2011 (UTC)

Picture of the day

The common wombat (Vombatus ursinus) is one of three species of wombat. It is native to south-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania, and grows to an average of 98 cm (39 in) long and a weight of 26 kg (57 lb). It is solitary and lives in an underground burrow.Photo: JJ Harrison

Archive – More featured pictures...

Star Wars

Wasn't the Wombat referenced in Star Wars? I believe that Luke Skywalker mentioned shooting them from his land cruiser. I think this bit of trivia should be mentioned 214.13.47.111 (talk) 14:45, 23 July 2011 (UTC)

The Star Wars reference is to a womp rat. Blake Burba (talk) 21:13, 23 July 2011 (UTC)

Distribution and occurrence in the Otway Ranges, South Western Victoria

Note that the distribution map excludes the Otway Ranges, however I have seen them there myself, at various locations from Cape Otway to Wongarra (near Lorne including more than one recent roadkilled on the Great Ocean Road. Several sources state that they have been locally extinct in the region (for example^[1]) since they were subject to a bounty and virtually exterminated prior to the 1950s.^[2] However I have also found sources that mention their reintroduction (when I don't know), for example^[3]. The following map suggests that while exceedingly rare, numerous sightings have been made in western Victoria relatively recently.^[4][5] --EvenGreenerFish (talk) 03:59, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

References

1. http://www.otway.biz/mammals.html
2. http://www.otwayfly.com/rainforest-learning-centre/flora-and-fauna/
3. http://www.heritage.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahpi/record.pl?RNE18054
4. http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Common+Wombat
5. http://biocache.ala.org.au/occurrence/search?q=lsid%3Aurn%3Alsid%3Abiodiversity.org.au%3Aafd.taxon%3Ae079f94d-3d7f-4deb-ae29-053fec4d1b53#tab_mapView

Common wombat should be Bare-nosed wombat

hi all..

I'm hoping to change this wiki page to reflect the name Bare-nosed wombat instead of Common wombat. No change to the scientific name but common wombat is the colloquil name and dates from the time of settlement in Australia hundreds of years ago. There was a time when their numbers were plentiful, hence the anecdotal name "common" but this has drastically changed in recent years.

There are 3 sub-species of wombats in Australia: Northern Hairy Nosed, Southern Hairy Nosed and the Bare-nosed wombat. The Hairy nosed wombats are listed already as critically endangered and endangered respectively. Both are being identified by their nose features (soft hairy nose). One argument to support his would be to keep to this form and name the 3rd sub-species by their nose quality namely bare-nosed.

The other compelling argument is that their numbers are rapidly declining. When we keep using terms such as "common" there is the implication that they are everywhere, and in record numbers, which is simply not true. This is also making matters more difficult for those of us working in the field daily with wild wombats to gain any government support if the notion of "common" is perpetuated.

In the 1920's somewhere they were classified as pests and shot out in the thousands by farmers. Only a few decades ago this was changed (I dont have the exact dates) but the culture persists and they are being decimated in rural communities. The numbers are available which Im happy to provide but between NSW and Vic over only a course of 3 years, culling permits were issued to cull over 10,000 wombats. Considering they only have a joey once every 2 years, it's obvious that their populations will be declining with this high level of reduction. Not only are they being culled legally, but also illegally, adding to this carstrikes and then of course the biggest threat - mange. We believe mange has now affected over 70% of wild wombats in NSW and when wombats contract mange, it's terminal. They have a 100% mortality rate once they have mange. This is all decimating their numbers and the work I and so many others are doing is tirelessly trying to prevent this sub-species from going down the same route as the other two towards extinction. Our efforts are not helped by calling them "common"

So Im asking, please help me change this page to stop referring to them as the common wombat and change it to bare-nosed wombat.

There is a petition in support of this change although Im unable to post the link here

Every wombat carer, sanctuary and refuge is in support of this. We understand the difficulty's these beautiful animals face and not only is it disrespectful to call them common in the face of the challenges they face, but this is a colonial historical name that is not relevant anymore. Times have changed

thank you Yolandi — Preceding unsigned comment added by Landi Wombat (talk • contribs) 12:37, 14 July 2021 (UTC)

Hi Yolandi, thanks for this information. Wikipedia article titles are determined by the Wikipedia:Article titles policy. Of particular importance is the WP:COMMONNAME section, which notes that article titles here usually reflect the most commonly used name for a topic in WP:Reliable sources. The best way to bring about an article name change is to demonstrate that reliable external sources (for example scientific papers, the Australian government, guidebooks, etc.) have changed the usual name by which they refer to this wombat. Best regards, CMD (talk) 13:01, 14 July 2021 (UTC)`