The Common Wombat is a protected species in New South Wales, but not because of climate change. Wombats are threatened by human activity in the direct sense that removal of habitat, roads and introduced species impose concerns for wombat survival. This is dependent on the location in question, as Wombats are classed as vermin in Victoria (Taggart et al. 2008). However, it has been found that the Wombat may not be as common as predicted, and that socio-political factors are in play where assessment of Wombat population size is in question (Roger et al. 2006)
In addition to this, the ICUN Red List of Threatened Species lists the wombat in the category of least concern of extinction (Taggart et al. 2008). Spending a considerable amount of time in temperature-stable burrows, the Common Wombat may not be as vulnerable to the effects of climate change as other Marsupials. Nevertheless, the Wombat is tied to a small area surrounding their burrow homes (Evans 2008), which may lead to possible future threats of localised environment changes and flooding further down the track.
We should expect the wombat to become extinct eventually. We should take steps to preserve its existence, as there are some concerns regarding the longevity of the species due to human activity, however these are generally unrelated to climate change directly.
In addition to this, the ICUN Red List of Threatened Species lists the wombat in the category of least concern of extinction (Taggart et al. 2008). Spending a considerable amount of time in temperature-stable burrows, the Common Wombat may not be as vulnerable to the effects of climate change as other Marsupials. Nevertheless, the Wombat is tied to a small area surrounding their burrow homes (Evans 2008), which may lead to possible future threats of localised environment changes and flooding further down the track.
We should expect the wombat to become extinct eventually. We should take steps to preserve its existence, as there are some concerns regarding the longevity of the species due to human activity, however these are generally unrelated to climate change directly.