Tasmania, Australia’s southernmost state, recently invited work-weary Aussies to apply for some rather, erm, unique, workcations. Our writer, Patrick Boxall, hit the jackpot when he was hired to be a Wombat Walker.
Fortunately Grace, another orphaned wombat, understands that I have a job to do. The wombats need walking and I won’t be going anywhere until they receive their daily quota of exercise. Nat explains that wombats are very dependent on their mum for the first 6–12 months of their life, which is why Grace is thrilled to follow me around.
Together we stroll past the Tasmanian devils and parrots and peacocks. We avoid the kangaroos, glance sideways at the geese and whenever I stop, Grace darts between my legs in search of shelter. “This is what she’d be doing in the wild,” Nat says. “Mum would be showing her where all the good spots to eat grass are.”
I can’t educate Grace in the ancient ways of the grass. But what I can offer is the comforting embrace of a thick chamois shirt, which Grace happily burrows into. Nat tells me that Grace’s rock-hard butt, which pokes out the bottom of my shirt, is her best defensive asset. In the wild, she’ll use it to not only block her burrow, but also crush Tasmanian devils and other unwelcome riff-raff against the burrow’s walls. It’s totally badass, but in, like, a good-ass way?
“It’s crazy,” Nat says. “You have to wait until something’s almost extinct, which is why we’re super open to collaborating with anyone who wants to look into further their success in the wild.” She uses the Eastern Quoll as an example. “People used to think of them as pests and now they’re going extinct and we don’t know why. Now we’re like, hang on a minute, are we too late? We haven’t researched these animals enough.”
Is it worth the effort of rehabilitation, then? Having spent the morning with Grace, Dottie and George—yes, even George—I can confirm that it is. And that’s coming from Australia’s (unofficial) #1 wombat walker.
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