Birth of a baby wombat with rare gene shocks wildlife park with her unique golden colouring


Extremely rare GOLDEN wombat is born at Australian wildlife park – and zoo keepers have given her a VERY cute name

  • Adorable baby wombat has stolen keepers hearts with unique golden colour  
  • ‘Honey Bun’ lives at the Ballarat Wildlife Park in Victoria with her mum Nulai
  • The blonde wombat has shocked zoo keepers and experts across the country 
  • Southern hairy-nosed wombat has a rare gene hardly ever seen in the wild

An adorable baby wombat born with a rare gene has shocked visitors and zoo keepers with her unique golden colouring. 

The southern hairy-nosed wombat, named ‘Honey Bun’ in honour of her caramel complexion, is the newest addition to the Ballarat Wildlife Park located in Victoria.

Curator of the wildlife park, Julia Leonard, said she and fellow keepers were thrilled when the ‘golden wombat’ emerged from her mother’s pouch. 

Golden wombat 'Honey Bun' (left) lives at the Ballarat Wildlife Park with mum Nulai (right)

Golden wombat ‘Honey Bun’ (left) lives at the Ballarat Wildlife Park with mum Nulai (right)

The rare golden colouring of the baby wombat came as a big surprise to keepers at the park

The rare golden colouring of the baby wombat came as a big surprise to keepers at the park

‘We were really surprised. There was a joke that the tree kangaroo had visited her mother overnight because he’s a bright blonde colour’, she said. 

It is extremely rare for a southern hairy-nosed wombat to be born with a golden coat. 

‘She’s got heaps of attention since her mum started taking her out for exercise, all the keepers are buzzing around her and it’s very exciting’, Ms Leonard said.

Ms Leonard said keepers from Melbourne Zoo and the Wombat Awareness Organisation had been amazed by Honey Bun’s unique colouring. 

‘They had never seen a wombat so blonde, she’s really special’, she said.

Keepers at the wildlife park had to wait six long months before they could meet the baby wombat, who only left the pouch of her mother ‘Nulai’ two months ago. 

Honey Bun’s enclosure will soon be swarmed by visitors wanting to catch a glimpse of the rare marsupial, with Ms Leonard predicting busy weekends ahead. 

The park is currently home to four southern-nosed wombats and six bear-nosed wombats, including Honey Bun’s older brother ‘Piggy Wom’.   

Visitors to the Ballarat Wildlife Park can catch a glimpse of Honey Bun and Nulai (pictured)

Visitors to the Ballarat Wildlife Park can catch a glimpse of Honey Bun and Nulai (pictured)

FACTS ABOUT SOUTHERN HAIRY-NOSED WOMBATS 

The species have soft grey fur, large square noses and long ears

The southern hairy-nosed wombats are the smallest specie of wombat

 They can grow 800-900mm long and weigh 20-32 kg and are strong diggers 

They prefer to live in extensive underground burrow systems in pairs

The wombat can live up to 15 years in the wild

The species are near threatened in SA and endangered in NSW 

Source: Australian Wildlife

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