Underground discovery could help save one of the world's rarest mammals

A critical finding in new research suggests that one of the world's rarest mammals, the northern hairy-nosed wombat, may be capable of surviving in a broader range of habitats than previously understood. This discovery significantly expands the possibilities for future conservation efforts and the identification of new protected sites for the species.

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One of the things we set out to do was to see if there was a difference between how the wombats construct their burrows at Richard Underwood compared to their other populations that exist in Queensland.

The northern hairy-nosed wombat is among Australia's most critically endangered animals, with approximately 450 individuals remaining across three protected sites in Queensland. The species, the largest of Australia's three wombat species and the world's largest burrowing marsupial, has seen a remarkable population recovery from an estimated low of just 35 in the 1980s.

A study published in Australian Mammalogy reveals that this critically endangered species can construct its burrows in a wider array of soil types than scientists had previously assumed. Researchers utilized advanced ground-penetrating radar technology to create detailed underground maps of wombat burrows at the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge (RUNR) in southern Queensland. This method allowed for a comparison with burrow structures previously studied at Epping Forest National Park.

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It's one of these vital bits of data and assumptions that we don't know as conversationists and conservation managers: how this varies throughout their distribution.

Lead researcher Andy Howe noted that much of the existing understanding of wombat burrows was based on studies from Epping Forest. The new research aimed to determine if burrow construction differed at RUNR. Findings indicated that burrows at RUNR were generally shallower, with the sandy loam soils there believed to offer greater structural stability compared to the deeper sandy soils at Epping. Howe stated that these findings suggest the species might be able to occupy a more diverse range of suitable habitats than previously thought, challenging the notion that northern hairy-nosed wombats are highly selective about their digging environments.

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Northern hairy-nosed wombats are really picky about the soil profile in which they dig their burrows.