this curious life

When an otherwise nocturnal wombat shows up in the daylight, acting lethargic and having trouble walking, you know that animal is in trouble.

 

When thousands of wombats turn up sick, emaciated, balding and dying, you know you have a crisis.

That’s what’s happening in Murraylands, South Australia, where up to 85 percent of the region’s southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons) are sick or dying, apparently the victims of invasive plants that have taken over the local ecosystem.