Winnie the Wombat dies at age 32

Winnie the Wombat has died on 16 April 2019 of old age at the Canberra National Zoo and Aquarium. The Hairy-Nosed Wombat was 32 years old, and believed to have been the oldest wombat in captivity and probably the oldest wombat in the world.

Wombats usually have a lifespan of 10-15 years in the wild, and about 25 years in captivity.

Winnie the Wombat even pre-dates the Canberra National Zoo and Aquarium. She was rescued 27 years ago and taken to Birdland at Batemans Bay. She entered the Canberra Zoo when she was six years old, said zoo team leader of Australian animals at Canberra National Zoo and Aquarium, Danielle Johinke. Therefore, Winnie the Wombat was the longest resident at the zoo.

The zoo has established Winnie’s Foundation to aid wombat conservation, particularly focussing on combating sarcoptic mange in regional wombat populations.

I took these photographs of Winnie the Wombat in February 2015 when she was 28 years old.

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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