…A mystery liver disease thought to be caused by introduced weeds
is causing hairy-nosed wombats in southern Australia to go bald
and die, researchers said Tuesday.
The illness, which causes the wombat to lose some or all of its
fur and then starve to death, is tearing through South Australia's
native southern hairy-nosed wombats, threatening entire
populations.
Peter Clements from the state's Natural History Society said
wildlife rescue workers had discovered "several hundred" sickened
animals in the Murraylands region near Adelaide, where up to 85
percent of the population was unwell.
"They tend to lose their fur in patches and sometimes in whole,"
Clements told AFP.
"You can see the bones showing through and they're generally
immobile, they just sit there in the sun all day and try to keep
warm."
Clements said it was unusual to see the wombat, a nocturnal
creature, out during the day and when they were in daylight "we
know that they're in trouble."
Initially the animals were thought to have mange, but it became so
widespread and severe -- with shiny, healthy skin revealed beneath
-- that autopsies were carried out to determine what was causing
the illness.
University of Adelaide researcher Wayne Boardman said the
non-native toxic potato weed appeared to be affecting the wombats'
livers, triggering a reaction with ultraviolet light that caused
them to lose their fur.
Boardman said it was unclear why the herbivorous wombat had
suddenly taken to eating the noxious weed but a shortage of their
usual grasses and alternative foods due to prolonged local drought
could be to blame.
"We have a feeling it might well be a struggle to find enough
vegetation, leading them to eat other plants like weeds, and
particularly potato weed, which is then having a deleterious
effect on the liver," Boardman told ABC Radio.
The creatures were also roaming in areas where they were not
usually seen, supporting the theory that there were food shortages
and they "have to move out to find vegetation", he added.
Squat and thickly furred, wombats are small burrow-dwelling
marsupials that walk on all fours and are bear-like in appearance
with a wide muzzle and a flattened head.
They are not a threatened species but Boardman said the population
in parts of South Australia state could die out completely if
their habitat was not restored to a healthy balance of native
plants.
Brigitte Stevens, from the Wombat Awareness Organisation, said it
was a "huge and overwhelming" problem.
"Some of them are just lying down... on their side and just eating
dirt. You know, they can't even lift their heads," she told ABC.