the.com/wombat
the only animal that turns its poop into perfect cubes, on purpose
means A stocky, burrowing Australian marsupial with short legs and a famously cube-shaped scat.
from From Dharug, the language of the Aboriginal people around what's now Sydney — recorded by English settlers around 1798 as something like 'wombach' or 'whombat.' The spelling wobbled through early colonial accounts before settling on 'wombat,' one of a handful of Dharug words (alongside 'dingo' and 'koala') that English quietly adopted whole.
- cube poop
- Produces up to 100 cube-shaped droppings nightly
- backward pouch
- Pouch faces rear so digging doesn't fill it
- butt armor
- Reinforced rump can crush a predator's skull
- surprising speed
- Sprints up to 40 km per hour
- deep burrows
- Digs tunnel networks over 30 meters long
common wombat — native to southeastern australia, weighs 20-35 kg and digs burrows up to 30 meters long
northern hairy-nosed wombat — critically endangered species with only ~250 individuals remaining in epping forest, queensland
southern hairy-nosed wombat — lives in arid regions of south australia and found in yonalatup national park, western australia