Secret sex life of wombats

A satisfied wombat?
Photo: Dallas Kilponen

A complicated dance, a bite on the rump and ferocious backward
kicks are all part of the wombat's lovemaking repertoire, a new
study has revealed.

Until recently, there were no recorded observations of mating
between wombats.

But the director of Nocturnal Wildlife Research Ltd, biologist
Clive Marks, found wombats were more likely than the average Aussie
male to emulate moves from the Kama Sutra.

Mr Marks, whose findings are to be published this week in
Nature Australia magazine, says the first successful
captive breeding of wombats was recorded in Hannover, Germany, in
1982.

"With absolute precision, details of the wombat's sex life were
recorded and, surprisingly, it seemed anything but modest," he
says.

"It appeared to be a physically demanding process, complete with
chasing, biting, grunting and loads of heavy breathing."

Then in 1990, Mr Marks filmed the first common wombat courtship
and mating in captivity in Australia, at Tonimbuk Farm in
south-eastern Victoria.

"The female, after a prolonged period of copulation in the same
position, broke away and began to trot in a pattern of circles and
figures of eight.

"The male chased her, following closely behind, and then bit her
on the rump," he says.

"She immediately stopped just long enough to permit him to roll
her on her side and begin copulating again.

"If the male was slow to mount, she would kick back aggressively
and not let him roll her on her side again until she had run round
in more circles and figures of eight. This happened seven
times."

Space seems to be the key. Mr Marks says without the "hard to
get" figure eight dance, the female will not allow the male to
mount.

But zoo keepers are catching on. Mr Marks says biologist
Catriona MacCallum at the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo has had
spectacular wombat breeding success.

"Joining and modifying the pen systems to permit a chase, she
not only found that wombat breeding was possible in captivity, but
she found herself with the first recorded case of wombat
twins."

Mr Marks says he hopes his study will solve the sloth-like image
problem of the common wombat, making the furry marsupials "the
symbol of Australian male sexual virility".