Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat juvenile at RUNR.

© Brad Leue-Australian Wildlife Conservancy

The DNA of a young Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat may help solve a genetic mystery at Richard Underwood Nature Refuge (RUNR) in south west Queensland, where researchers are investigating if one of the three resident males are responsible for fathering the most recent addition of the critically endangered species.

The juvenile was photographed outside mum’s pouch earlier this month, shortly after the results of a genetic study conducted in 2024 by Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and Adelaide University identified just three males amongst the estimated population of 18 wombats sampled inside the refuge.

The results raised concerns about the population’s long-term genetic diversity, concerns that may be eased if researchers can determine whether one of the three known males fathered the joey, or whether an undetected male is contributing to the next generation.

“It feels a bit like we’re in an episode of Jerry Springer,” said Dr Ben Stepkovitch, AWC Wildlife Ecologist. “We’re excited to see the little wombat popping up on motion sensor cameras, it’s reassuring to see the population growing, but we also need to conduct a paternity test.”

“The juvenile’s DNA could tell us whether we have more breeding males in the population than we currently know – which would be very exciting if that’s the case.”

To collect the juvenile’s DNA, the young one needs to be old enough to leave solid scat samples as it starts to wean off mum in the next nine months. Ben believes this may be as soon as next month, which is when he’s cleared his diary to go search for fresh wombat joey scats.

Once the fresh sample is sealed tightly in a container, it will be sent off to Adelaide University for analysis and comparison to samples collected in 2024.

“Genetic diversity is important in helping species to adapt to challenges such as disease, environmental change and other threats,” Ben added. “If most of the young wombats are being fathered by the same few males, that’s something we’ll need to understand and monitor closely.”

“On the other hand, if this juvenile’s father turns out to be a male we didn’t detect during the study, it would be a positive sign for the refuge’s long-term genetic health.”

The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat is one of the world’s rarest mammals, with an estimated population of just over 400 individuals. While conservation efforts have helped bring the species back from the brink of extinction, genetic diversity remains a challenge, with today’s entire population descending from just 35 wombats that survived at Epping Forest National Park (scientific) in the 1980s.

Today, RUNR is home to one of only three populations of the species. The refuge was established by the Queensland Government in 2009 as an insurance population for the species and has been managed by AWC since 2022. A third population was established by the Queensland Government at Dhuny Yumba National Park (scientific) in 2024. Despite growing numbers and new populations, the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat remains rarer than the Giant Panda and Orangutan, making the genetic health of each population critical to its survival.

For more information Australia’s critically endangered Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat, click here, and for more on AWC’s work at RUNR, click here.

Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is a pragmatic, on-ground global conservation leader, conserving landscapes and providing hope for Australian wildlife. Informed by science, we deliver measurable conservation impact at scale to secure the future of our most endangered species and their habitats, including restoring degraded landscapes where necessary.

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