An orphaned baby wombat has been filmed sucking its thumb at a sanctuary after a human killed its mom.
The Southern hairy nose wombat named Summa came to the TwoSongsSanctuary in South Australia with her three siblings after her mother was killed. She weighed only 31 ounces when she was rescued, the sanctuary said on its Facebook page.
Linda Davies, of the TwoSongsSanctuary, told Newsweek: "Wombat joeys seem to have the world against them. Farmers destroy wombats as they believe they are a pest and do not want to share the land with the indigenous species. Wombats dig large burrows for shelter and dig under fences also to get to a variety of food. Farmers also plough in the wombats' burrows and wombats can be left to die, unable to escape." Wombats are also sometimes hunted for food by aboriginal people, Davies said.
A video shows Summa being held while she sucks her thumb. Another video shows three of the wombat siblings cuddling together on a rug.
Wombats are native to Australia and can be found widely across Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The species live in burrows connected together by sub tunnels. The nocturnal species will stay within their burrows sheltering from the sun in the daytime and venture out at night.
Wombat mothers are killed quite regularly. "Some mothers have been hit by cars and died... some mothers shot," Davies said.
"But someone has always checked the mother's pouch and saved the wombat joey by bringing them to TwoSongsSanctuary. We have had call outs at all hours of the night and day...we have driven up to seven hours to pick up a wombat joey orphaned."
The rescued wombats will remain at the TwoSongsSanctuary for the rest of their lives as the Department of Wildlife in South Australia does not permit the release of humanized wildlife.
The Sanctuary, which also houses other native wildlife, raises money for its rescued animals on its GoFundMe page.
"We believe that wombats need our support as everything seems to be against them... so the orphaned rescued wombats that make their way to TwoSongsSanctuary will stay with us as their forever home," Davies said. "There are no release plans or spaces for wombats to be released due to being surrounded by farming industry and if released would have a slim chance of survival. Wombats [have been known to] live up to 35 years in captivity and we will be responsible for all our rescues for their entire lifespan."
Despite being orphaned, Summa is "healthy and happy" at the santuary, and spends her days outside in an open enclosure, the sanctuary said on Facebook. She spends her nights inside as she is not yet old enough to be on her own.
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Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more