Imma Perfetto
Cosmos science journalist
Australians were outraged this month when an Instagram “influencer” named Sam Jones picked up a wild wombat joey and separated it from its mother. A video of the action went viral.
Jones left the country, leaving behind comments from many people who felt her behaviour was unacceptable. She later explained her actions, and apologised.
Associate Professor Julie Old, a biologist and zoologist at Western Sydney University who specialises in wombats, says citizen scientists can help… but she has a warning.
“Wombats are big animals – they get up to 40kg. They’ve got big teeth; they’ve got big claws … You don’t want to pick them up,” she says.
“I am aware that they do chase people. On occasion, people have been bitten quite badly. So, you know, it’s not something you should interact with.”
In other words, Jones was lucky to have avoided being injured during her stunt.
“In that particular example, it would have been better for her just to … have videoed the animal from a distance, not interfered with the mother and the joey.
“Have some respect for the animals and don’t interfere with them and just enjoy the experience, would be my recommendation.”
Events like this raise the question about how individuals can help protect wombats from human activities and other threats.
Old established WomSAT to help.
The citizen science project offers a way to make a real difference by contributing valuable wombat observations to scientific research.
“As researchers, we can’t survey pretty much the whole of Australia for wombats,” Old told Cosmos.
“This gives an opportunity for people to get involved in wombats and find out where they are.”
The project focuses on tracking 2 of the greatest threats to wombats: vehicle collisions and sarcoptic mange, a parasitic infection caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei.
“Wombats are nocturnal animals. They’re big, but most people only see them dead on the side of the road, unfortunately, or if they’re out during the day. Usually when they have sarcoptic mange they’re out during the day,” says Old.
S. scabiei causes scabies in humans but also infects about 150 mammalian species.
The mites burrow into the wombat’s skin, and it scratches to relieve the itching sensation. As the infestation progresses, the wombat loses fur and its skin becomes thickened, cracked, sore and infected.
It is fatal unless treated.
“Wildlife carers spend enormous amounts of time, money, and energy treating wombats with any parasite control to try and help them recover,” says Old.
WomSAT allows people to upload real-time observations of wombats, and their poo and burrows using a mobile phone or computer. They can also include additional information, such as whether the animal is alive or dead, the possible cause of death, and whether they appear to be affected by sarcoptic mange.
The resulting data can help researchers map the prevalence of sarcoptic mange and track this as it changes over time. Old says that wildlife carers can use it to target specific areas to treat wombats for mange.
According to a 2023 research paper, 31.2% of all the bare-nosed wombats reported to WomSAT from 2015-2019 were infected with sarcoptic mange.
Late last year, the WomSAT team developed a free online training course for members of the public interested in getting involved with hands-on conservation work to learn how to identify and treat mange-infested wombats. The certificate awarded at its completion permits individuals to register with the Wombat Protection Society of Australia to legally treat wombats in the field.
“They can also use WomSAT to track their treatment record of individual wombats … to see if it’s improving based on photos and dose rates.
“Over time, we’re hoping that that sort of information will be able to be shared with wildlife carers so that we can improve methods to treat mange.”
The WomSAT data also revealed that more than 2,300 wombat deaths due to vehicle collisions were reported from 2015-2019, occurring most often in winter (July-September).
“We’re not really sure why that is,” says Old.
“It might be that people are reporting it more often … it might be [that wombats are] moving around more. We also found that most of the wombats that were hit by cars didn’t have sarcoptic mange.”
The data has already been used to identify hotspots for roadkill, and could be used to identify and implement mitigation strategies where they are needed most. WomSAT team member and PhD student Sujatha Mayadunnage is now conducting an online survey to learn about the human behaviour of wildlife-vehicle collisions, with a particular focus on wombats.
Most existing WomSAT sightings have been the bare-nosed or common wombat (Vombatus ursinus), which is found in southern and eastern Australia, including Tasmania. But Old says they’ve also received fantastic information on the southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons), which is found in southeast Western Australia and South Australia.
The critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii) is found within just 3 fenced areas in Queensland, where only about 400 remain.
