Wombats are playful and much more intelligent than their closest relatives, the koala. They are one of the largest burrowing animals in the world, and may spend two-thirds of their lives underground. The burrow protects them from heat, cold, rain and bushfires. The sleeping chambers are lined with leaves and twigs. A warren may be the work of several generations, and can be up to 20 metres long.
Although they do not usually move around quickly, they can easily outrun a human when required and are immensely strong. Their main defence is having a toughened rear hide, which presents a difficult to bite target to predators such as dingoes.
 The female Common Wombat gives birth to a tiny naked baby which spends six months in its mother's rear-opening pouch. Once it leaves the pouch, the young continues to breast-feed for around another year. The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat can breed faster and produce two young every three years. However it is now one of the rarest mammals in the world, and has only approximately 3 km² of remaining habitat left, located in a national park in Queensland.
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