Quick Take
- Wombats can forage up to 8-hours every day.
- Wombats can give Sarcoptes scabiei — also known as scabies — to humans.
- Wombats are strict herbivores.
- Returning to the tent was the only way to interrupt this animal intrusion.
Camping is an exciting activity for the whole family where you can discover new places and explore new experiences. It also offers you the chance to get close to nature, and that is what appeals most to many people. But what happens when nature wants to get a little closer to you than you had planned? In this hilarious Instagram Reel by @AnimalsDoingThings, a family returns to their tent to find a wombat helping itself to their food supplies and rummaging inside the campers’ tent. Be advised that there is some strong language.
Wombats are herbivores and prefer dining on native grasses, though campers’ provisions are also on the menu when available.
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Wombat Rummages Through the Campers’ Tent
It looks as if an Australian family has returned to their tent to find an unexpected and unwelcome visitor. The tent window is torn, though we are not clear whether it was the wombat that was to blame for this! Nevertheless, the cheeky animal has used this as an entry point and is sticking its nose inside various grocery bags, presumably looking for a tasty snack.
The family makes sure that the visitor knows they are back by shouting loudly, and the wombat makes its escape through the hole. However, it does not look at all guilty and saunters away in its own time.
What Do Wombats Normally Eat?
In the clip, the wombat leaves empty-handed. According to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, wombats are strict herbivores, so they only eat plants. Also, the New South Wales Environment and Heritage Department explains that these animals can spend up to eight hours a day grazing. They love the native grasses that grow in the area, including snow grass, wallaby grass, and kangaroo grass. If they get the chance to eat sedges and roots of shrubs and trees, then that’s even better!
Are Wombats Harmful To Campers?
It is best to avoid wombats as they can carry scabies.
©Martin Pelanek/Shutterstock.com
There are some very good reasons for discouraging wombats from entering your tent. They carry a condition called sarcoptic mange, which is a skin disease caused by a mite called Sarcoptes scabiei. The mite burrows into their skin, causing inflammation and itchiness. It can make the wombats very sick and can even kill them.
This is the same mite that causes scabies in humans, and unfortunately, we can get it from wombats. If you see a sick wombat, you should not go near it. There are programs underway in Australia to treat the resident wombats.
