Did you miss International Wombat Day Sunday?

Lately, I’ve been busy, so when I saw an item on Facebook Sunday that it was International Wombat Day, it didn’t dawn on me until Monday to post a great photo of my niece and her son with a wombat.

The photo was taken at the Caversham Wildlife Park in Western Australia. My niece Debra, her son Jackson, and my sister accompanied me on a remembrance trip to Australia. I lived in Sydney from 1965 to 1967 and wanted to visit the amazing county again.

I chose the Perth area, in addition to Sydney, because I didn’t travel there when I lived in Australia. I call Perth the “Seattle of Australia” because it’s on Australia’s West Coast. People in Perth laughed about that.

So, join me a day late in celebrating International Wombat Day. And, I’d highly recommend visiting Australia. It’s a fascinating country – home to amazing wildlife and views, with famous buildings and landmarks. It also has wonderful wine tasting regions.

Created on October 22, 2005, International Wombat Day celebrates wombats that live in Southeastern Australia and on the Australian island of Tasmania. They’re marsupials, like all of Australia’s native mammals, and wombats are closely related to koalas. But they’re distinctive because the pouches that shelter their young face backward. Wombats are great diggers, creating burrows where they spend most of their lives. If the pouch faced forward, it would fill with dirt as the female digs with its powerful front legs and claws.

While some people consider International Wombat Day amusing, wombats are facing a range of issues that threaten their survival in bushland, on farms, and in national parks. Land clearing and development threatens their habitats, while licensed shooting, vehicle strikes, and deadly mange disease reduce their numbers even more, according to Humane Society International.