Rodney Patterson. age 7. of Nashville. Tenn.

What is a wombat?

A wombat crept into Andy's column a few weeks ago. He was one of a list of the marsupial animals of Australia. Several readers have asked to know more about him. In his native land he is sometimes called a badger. For he reminded the European settlers of badgers at home. He looks a bit like a badger and like the badger he is a good digger. He might also remind you of a small bear. For he shuffles along with a bearish walk. But he is not related to either a badger or a bear. He is a marsupial. or pouch animal.

There are several kinds of wombats in Australia. Most wear coats of coarse. dark fur. The Australians sometimes use a wombats coat to make a door mat. However. not all wombats have dark coarse fur coats. Some are tan. grizzled or pale buff. And one of the cousins has‑a soft$ silky coat.

A really big wombat may be four feet long and weight 80 pounds. Most are around three feet long. The body is thick and stocky. the head big.­The legs are short and ‑stubby. Each front foot has five toes with extremely long nails. These nails are used for digging the .long wombat tunnels. Sometimes a wombat will dig himself a tunnel 100 feet long. However. he may be content with a 15 foot tunnel. Always at the end of the tunnel is a cozy. soft nest. Here the wombat dozes away the daylight hours..

When the sun goes down. he wakes up and comes out to eat. He likes to chew the inner bark from tree trunks. He will pull up a root and chomp it and he is sure to nibble on the grasses. Such a diet needs strong teeth. The wombat has rodent‑type teeth. like the beaver and the squirrel. As he gnaws away their crowns. they keep mowing in from the roots.

Mrs. Wombat has but one baby at a .time. He goes into the fur‑lined pouch on her underside as soon as he is born. Like all marsupials. He is tiny and helpless.. But he has a cozy cradle and plenty‑. of mother is milk to help him grow.

When it comes to other wombats, our friend is not very sociable. He sets out to seek his fortune as soon as cradle days are over. He makes a burrow of his own as soon as possible. He does not care for family life or for the company of other wombats. He is a sort of hermit and he takes very good care of himself. He stays indoors and refuses to tangle with the dangers of the daytime. He comes out when everything is quiet and he dines well and plentifully. If all goes wells he has a good chance of living to be 30 years old. That is a good life span for so small a creature. But there is always the dangers of course. that someone will make the little fellow into a door mat.

He may not care much for his fellows. but the furry fellow does love people. He is always happy to be adopted into a family especially if there are children. And he turns out to be an affectionate and even‑tempered pet. Most of the time he is very gentle. But if he feels he is being put upon he can and will take a bite. He does not often find this necessary. Most of the time he is content with a low warning growl. or a hoarse bark.