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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 32(6)

Winter home range and foraging of common wombats (Vombatus ursinus) in patchily burnt subalpine areas of the Snowy Mountains, Australia

Ken Green
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Snowy Mountains Region, NPWS, PO Box 2228, Jindabyne, NSW 2627, Australia.

B Email: ken.green@environment.nsw.gov.au

Wildlife Research 32(6) 525-529 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR04079
Submitted: 16 September 2004  Accepted: 4 July 2005   Published: 18 October 2005

Abstract

In 2003, wombats survived bushfires at subalpine altitudes in the Snowy Mountains of Australia to be faced only weeks later by a further reduction in food availability owing to the winter cover of snow. Where burrows occurred in burnt areas, winter home ranges (95% kernel) were significantly larger (52.6 ± 33.4 ha) than in unburnt areas (16.3 ± 14.5 ha). Wombats were able to survive the winter by foraging further from burrows; the lack of burrows for protection from predators was not an issue owing to a lack of feral dogs at subalpine altitudes. However, distant foraging was restricted by the low availability of burrows in deep snow, particularly at alpine altitudes. Wombats apparently fed mainly on monocots. All studied wombats survived the winter and there was no evidence of significant loss of condition in wombats sighted during the study.


Acknowledgments

I thank Glenn Sanecki for assistance with Arcview. Barbara Triggs, Glenn Sanecki and Murray Evans commented on the manuscript.


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