THE WOMBAT AT HOME. 
A NATURALISTS NOTES FROM THE BUSH. 
By Cyrm Grant Lane, with Photographs by the Author. 
Il MORE ABOUT THE WOMBAT. 
A GENUINE personal knowledge of the Wombat induces me to supplement my 
4 previous article* on this animal by briefly setting down a few concise and simple 
statements, the outcome of close practical observation aided by a keen interest im the 
study of the peculiarities and modus vivendi of this little-known burrower. 
In the first place let me say a word about the wombat’s physical structure and 
its general adaptation to the life it leads. 
The animal cannot chmb, neither is it capable of attainmg any great’ speed 
when chased or attacked, for this reason: Nature has supplied the wombat with a 
hide so thick and tough that the sharpest fangs of dog or dingo fail to penetrate 
the greater portion of it. 
The wombat—speaking proportionally —is possessed of enormously powerful fore- 
arms, fitted with long, curved claws, somewhat blunted at the extremities, the 
underside being slightly concave, or trenched. With these indispensable implements 
the deep soil of the forest is easily cast aside and burrows of varying length 
excavated. 
Unlike the rapid, energetic, over-excited burrowing of a dog or rabbit, the wombat 
appears to work with precise calculation, steadily tearmg away with those well-developed 
*See Vol. I., page 304. 
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