When wombats cry
In Aussieland,
The one thing you
Must understand
Is that they cry
Because they see
Fine members of
Their family
That used to waddle
All around
And dig their tunnels
Underground
Have vanished from
Our planet Earth.
How do you judge
A wombat’s worth?
The Northern one
Is critically
Endangered now,
Surprisingly,
More than the
Panda bear,
It’s true,
As low as 35 into
The 1980s,
Scary times,
And even though
This number climbs
And reached 200
Just last year,
Is this enough
To keep them here?
Written for Wombat Day, October 22.
“The Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat…is on the brink of extinction. It is one of the last few representatives of the remarkable suborder of mammals that included the massive diprotodons. To lose this unique species would be a national tragedy and an international embarrassment.”
– Professor Hugh Possingham Member, Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, FAA
The World Wildlife Fund has adoption kits available for endangered species on their website. Here is a link to adopt a wombat if you are interested: http://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions/Wombat.aspx.
Reowr 
They well to endangered in some parts but in others they are doing ok. They are like little moblie tanks and can move very quickly over a short distance and inflict damage on your car if you hit one. You can’t keep them as a pet as they love to tunnel, and they have all watched the great escape!!
The bare-nosed wombats, or common wombats, are doing fine, but the Northern and Southern Hairy-nosed ones are in trouble. Wombats apparently love to be scratched on their tummy and can be very playful creatures. Dangerous though if you make them mad, no doubt. Wouldn’t it be something if they became the next domesticated pet? The tunneling would be problematic, I suppose. Sigh.
I like this very much.. (=
I’m so glad you like it! 🙂
So sad to read, they are unique creatures!
Yes, they are indeed unique creatures. The female ones have pouches on their backside so they don’t fill up with dirt while burrowing. How cool is that! 🙂
Oh wow really I never knew that!!!
AnElephant’s heart cries for the Wombat.
Cool poem.
Elephants are noble and compassionate creatures. 🙂
nice placement of words
Thank you kindly. 🙂
I didn’t realise Wombats were decreasing! Great work bringing the subject to prominence! 🙂
The Northern Hairy-nosed wombats are increasing very slowly, but it is a precarious existence for them.
awwww 😦
I know. I think we should start domesticating some of them. The only thing is the tunneling and living in burrows…that would be tricky to get around.
That would be tricky! It is amazing how in different parts of the world creatures affect living in various ways.
They do indeed Cubby.
Too many introduced predators and habitat disturbance by humans, disruptive to most native animals here. I support anyone who works to help them.
Maybe your poem will assist, may I share it?
Of course you may reblog. Awareness is essential to change. 🙂
Delightful! My heart goes out to wombats everywhere.
Yes, it is a woeful state for them. I would love to go and see them one day.
Touching, melancholy, – it also made me smile.
I understand what you mean. It is strange how sad things can make us smile in a rueful, wistful way.
What can we do? How can we change this situation? Is it due to habitat loss, hunting? Arggggggggg! Your poem is wonderful and I hope you don’t mind if I reblog it so that others will know what’s going on. Thank you for this information. Sad as it it. Hugs.
There are many factors that contribute to their state, habitat loss and competition for resources with the introduction of cattle and sheep being a couple of them. Reblogs are always welcome. It is indeed very sad.
Gorgeous! They reached 35! Wonderful poem, Cubby!
Reblogged this on Rethinking Life and commented:
This wonderful poem written by Cubby is for the remaining wombats. Thank you Cubby.
The remaining wombats! How we human destroy what God created for a reason! It is a tragedy as you beautifully said…
Hopefully these wombats can be saved. I mourn for the species that we have lost and are losing every day.
I like this. It had the feel of a pbs documentary and that’s cool.
Hehe I’m glad you think documentary-style poetry is cool. 🙂
Thank you for providing a public service 🙂
This is terrible…is there no end to our silly attitude towards life? A great Poem my dear.
The general attitude seems to be that life is expendable, especially nonhuman life. 😦
Yes, sadly enough life does not seem to be a human priority, especially nonhuman life
Reblogged this on Bastet and Sekhmet's Library and commented:
>:-( Cubby’s wonderful poem just brought to my attention that the poor Wombat is next to extinction! Have a read of a fine poem and become aware too of the plight of the Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat…today is Wombat Day by the way.
I can’t believe there is a “Wombat Day.” How has America missed this?
Wombats don’t get the kind of attention that panda bears do. There are estimates of 1,590 to 3,000 giant pandas now living in the wild compared to 200 wombats.
Oh wow– that is incredibly low, I had no idea.
I had to look the picture up to see what a wombat looked like. Have they decided what is causing them to deminish? Have they decided how to help them increase? Thanks for making me aware of this. They are a beautiful animal.
There are many factors, and competition for food because of overgrazing of cattle and sheep is one of them. There is a recovery program for Northern Hairy-nosed wombats that is aided by the Wombat Foundation to fund research and management. They are indeed beautiful creatures.
I imagine it’s just as tragic as the mighty Condor; only 5 or so left now, and some MORON shot one the other day and posted it on facebook! If they don’t prosecute his ass, there’s gonna be hell to pay! people are just so dam selfish and greedy these days, Cubby, it’s like I’ve said a million times, WE are a virus on the planet…the worst virus known in the Universe! just makes me sick! the endangered list gets bigger each year!! I hope you can save your wombat! 🙂
It is horrible that people would be so cruel to kill for sport and then be proud of it. Very sickening indeed.
This piece is a very soulfull thing to write and share, I really am in awe of your talent and your ability to spread love and care though the screens.
Your poem, however, taught me something that I did not know and it makes me sad, mostly because I think the situation is not going to change
I think the situation can and will change, slowly, either for the better or worse. Worst-case scenario is a natural disaster that wipes them all out in one blow. I think they should be sent to zoos all over the world. I am going to adopt a wombat from http://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions/Wombat.aspx. I will add this link to the post itself.
Very sad to ,lose a species.
Yes, it is incredibly sad. There are species disappearing every day. 😦
So heartbreaking! It’s incredibly sad to think of the number of species that become extinct every day, many of which we didn’t even know existed. Thank you for writing this poem and bringing attention to the wombat’s plight, Cubby.
Yes, every day we lose so many species. 😦
save the wombat, they are the cutest little guys.
I am going to adopt a wombat from: http://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions/Wombat.aspx. I think these adoption kits are great gift ideas for animal lovers. 🙂
I didn’t know they had their own day–the blogs are a wealth of info!
Yes, blogs can be a wonderful source of information. 🙂
Wombat day?! I don’t even know what a wombat is? (I recently discovered a mongoose is not a bird. I’m guessing the likewise, a wombat is not a bat?) *heads to google*
Boy, they’re cute. I want one! Can you have them as pets?
I’m guessing by now you’ve discovered what wombats are. I think they are fascinating creatures. 🙂
Yes… They are seriously cute. I want one!
I’ve been reading some stories of wombat keepers who help orphaned wombats until they are old enough to be released back into the wild, and they are incredibly stubborn creatures! After reading the stories, I think I’d rather be a visiting auntie who comes to play often rather than take care of one full time. One wombat keeper said she shut the door in her wombat’s face once to keep it outside while she went in briefly, and the wombat ran straight through the door. And apparently you cannot say “no” to a wombat. What they want, they will get. They are not trainable…so if they want your chocolate biscuits, you better give it to them. But they are so adorable! And so playful. 😀
They sound rather a lot like my children… 😉
LOL! 😀
That is highly depressing! Those are some extremely adorable critters! The have a smile painted on them…
Yes, they are adorable. I think if our hearts can reach out to help the creatures we find adorable, we can eventually reach out to the not-so-cute ones.
The not so cute creatures deserve love too, for sure! But spiders are on their own! I didn’t know they were in such peril… Good that they have their own day.
I never knew… what a beautiful and sad poem. I hope they keep growing in number, it would be a shame to lose another species to human interference.
Yes, it would be such a shame. 😦
I am charmed by this poem in spite of the serious subject matter. Pandas are not the only cute animals, but even the non-cute deserve our caring mindfulness. Would be saddened to see these wonderfully-named creatures disappear.
Yes, the non-cute deserve our attention as well. I think the World Wildlife Fund is brilliant in using cute animals in their “adopt-an-animal” program to raise support that will also provide aid for the not-so-cute creatures.
How sad about wombats. The earth is falling apart so quickly.
It is a sad reality we live in.
My friends had one on their property last summer, their property is 80acres of scrub and they love it…Well done it was not one the news here about wombat day, so you are one up on me…Congrats
Hehe I only knew about Wombat Day because of the poem I wrote about wombats before. Otherwise, I would have been totally clueless. 🙂
haahaha you made me laugh…
Great way to honor God’s precious little creatures! Well done Cubby!
I’m so glad you think so. 🙂
A beautiful, heartfelt poem for Wombat Day 🙂
Meanwhile. sadly, there are no shortage of human wombats, ie “Somebody that eats, roots & leaves, a simple minded person” – http://australiandictionary.net/wombat
I think real wombats would be insulted by that definition if they knew hehe. I’m glad you liked the poem. 🙂
So true, insults are a human invention…
What a beautiful way to bring awareness 🙂 Thank you Cubby.
Awareness is the first step towards change. 🙂
I love this poem AND I learned something too!
That’s a bonus! 🙂
there’s a wombat day! wow guess i shouldn’t be surprised as there’s a day for most things 😛 great poem, i love the flow your poems always have
Yes, there is a day for most things. I think having a day for endangered species is a great way to raise awareness. 🙂
🙂
More artists need to focus on these kinds of issues in their work, as hard as that is to do emotionally sometimes. Art, rather than dry newspaper articles (though they have their place as well), has the power to make people not just think about these problems, but FEEL something about them. Very nice poem!
I agree with your sentiments. Art is a very powerful medium not utilized as effectively as it could be by the media. Thank you for your lovely thoughts. 🙂