THE shocking sight of this emaciated wombat with hair scratched off his back and thick skin crusting over his eyes is just one heartbreaking example of a deadly disease afflicting the animals.
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The Western Advocate spotted this wombat near Ben Chifley Dam this week. It’s just one local wombat suffering sarcoptic mange.
Spread by tiny mites that live in the burrows, the disease is decimating wombat populations not just here, but throughout Australia.
Ecologist Ray Mjadwesch said yesterday that he had seen a large number of affected wombats at Yetholme, in particular, but also at Napoleon Reef, Mount Horrible and Newnes.
The ecologist said the disease was spreading rapidly, adding that sarcoptic mange was virtually unknown 20 years ago.
Mr Mjadwesch said the wombats suffer greatly, particularly in summer when their wounds tend to become flyblown. Their death is slow and painful.
The problem is becoming so widespread that a community information day about the affliction is being planned for October 4 at Yetholme.
Mr Mjadwesch said it was important that the whole community joined landholders in understanding the disease.
Wombat Protection Society chairman David Alder will address the meeting, explaining how to recognise sick wombats and who to call, and the treatments which are being trialled.
Mr Mjadwesch said part of the problem with the spread of the disease was the wombat’s very social nature.
While they have their favourite sleeping burrow, a wombat might visit up to 12 burrows in one night.
Their social habits work to their detriment because the mites get spread from burrow to burrow as the wombats move around.
Sick wombats that are caught early can be treated, but this can take up to three months. Very sick wombats often need to be put down.
The Wombat Protection Society said many people don’t get to see a manged wombat and are often devastated when they do.
A healthy wombat has bright eyes, clean and complete hair, the skin inside the ears is clear and often pink, and their hair has a sheen.
Many people living in areas where mange is prevalent don’t realise that all the wombats they see are infested with mites and what they perceive as normal hair loss and skin encrusting is totally abnormal and an indication that the animal will die shortly.
In a wombat with mange, thickened plaques of skin form all over the animal, leading to flyblown fissures.
The ears and eyes become covered in thick, scab-like plaques.
The animal is hunched up, eventually has difficulty moving, eating and drinking and dies an often slow death, most frequently succumbing to starvation, deafness, blindness and pulmonary infections.
Mr Mjadwesch said anyone who comes across a sick wombat should call WIRES Central West or another wildlife care organisation.
People should not interfere with the animal in any way, he said.
Mr Alder said a method of treatment was being developed by a company in Victoria called Mange Management, and being trialled by the University of Western Sydney and the University of Tasmania.
A burrow flap is set up in the mouth of a burrow and, as the animal pushes in, it gets dosed with a medicine that treats mange.
Mr Alder said this would avoid the need to capture wild wombats which didn’t do well in captivity.
“They are getting good outcomes for wombats using this method,” Mr Mjadwesch added.
