Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat
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| Lasiorhinus krefftii (Owen, 1873) |
The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii), also known as the Yaminon, is one of three species of wombats. It was found across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland as recently as 100 years ago, but is now restricted to a 3 km² range within the 32 km² Epping Forest National Park in Queensland. It is probably the rarest large mammal in the world and is critically endangered. It is slightly larger than the Common Wombat and able to breed somewhat faster (two young every three years). Its habitat has become infested with African buffel grass, which out-competes the native grasses the Yaminon prefers to feed on. A two metre-high predator-proof fence was constructed around 25 km² of the park in 2000, but captive breeding and translocation programs have been abandoned for the time being because the population in the sole remaining Yaminon colony is considered too small to allow the safe removal of the 15 or 20 individuals needed to start a new wild colony, and because more than a decade of captive breeding research with Common and Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats has produced only a handful of successful births.
The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat is listed as "endangered" by the Australian Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT),[3] and "critically endangered" by the IUCN.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 43-44. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ a b Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Lasiorhinus krefftii. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR B1+2c, D v2.3)
- ^ Lasiorhinus krefftii Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat. Species Profile and Threats Database. Retrieved on January 5, 2007.
- Underhill D (1993) Australia's Dangerous Creatures, Reader's Digest, Sydney, New South Wales, ISBN 0-86438-018-6
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