Threat of a Balding Disease for Australian Wombats

In most cases, balding is a condition which comes with “cosmetic” implications, particularly if women are affected by it.

But for wombats, balding is a life-and-death condition.

Wildlife rescue officers in Australia noted the rise of wombats going bald in Southern Australia, leaving them at-risk against weathering the challenges of the outdoors. A liver condition is theorized to be the cause of the wombat-balding epidemic, linked with the consumption of certain weeds.

“Several Hundred”, as shared by Peter Clements of the Natural History Society, were discovered in the Murraylands area, located near Adelaide. It is estimated that 85% of the wombat population is afflicted with the condition.

"They tend to lose their fur in patches and sometimes in whole," shared Clements. "You can see the bones showing through and they're generally immobile, they just sit there in the sun all day and try to keep warm."

Being nocturnal animals, the fact that wombats in the area are coming out during daytime says something – they’re in big trouble.

Though far from being an endangered species, the situation has called the attention of wildlife rescue organizations, officers and personnel, given that if it is left unchecked an entire wombat population is at risk of dying out.

Theories pertaining to the loss of habitats and food sources are circulating, telling how the diminishing food resources had led wombats into eating weeds not healthy for their consumption.

As further investigations related to the balding outbreak are still ongoing, the situation, as theories would tell, remain to be one touching up over how mankind has to do better in maintaining environmental balance in sharing Mother Earth with its fellow residents.