Adorable footage from Australia’s Perisher Ski Resort where an employee got up close and personal with a local wombat. Claudine Talbot was skiing around when she spotted what she thought was a rock. She skied towards the rock to jump of it when it moved. She quickly realized it was alive and stopped for a closer inspection and this happened:
“No way, I’m being eaten by a wombat. It tickles.” –Claudine Talbot
Claudine Talbot shared the nuzzling footage on her Instagram account where it has since gone viral. After the footage was widely shared, she found out the wombat lives in Kosciuszko National Park and is called Gary. Incredible.
About Wombats:
Wombats are a robust and powerful nocturnal marsupial. They are found throughout southeast Australia, including Tasmania. They have strong claws, nails and teeth for digging burrows and chewing through tree roots. They are herbivorous and spend the hours of darkness grazing on grasses, shrubs and leaves.
Because wombats are marsupials, they have a pouch for raising their young, called joeys. Their pouch faces backwards to avoid it filling up with soil as they burrow! They have a strong cartilage plate on their rump which is used as the perfect defense tool. If approached by a predator whilst underground, the wombat will use that cartilage plate as a door, blocking the entrance to their burrow. In order to escape predators when above ground, wombats have the ability to run at speeds of 40 kilometres (25 miles) per hour!
Just when you thought they couldn’t get any cooler, they do square poos. Crikey! This is to mark their territory, ensuring it stays exactly where it lands and won’t roll away.
Related: Wombat Wanders Across The Slopes Of An Australian Ski Resort
