Wombats have been found to have the capacity for compassion. Is this true? (4 photos)

It's believed that the animal world is cruel and driven solely by instinct. There's no room for mercy, and everyone survives as best they can. This stereotype has been shattered by Australian wombats, who, it turns out, are not without compassion. The official Greenpeace New Zealand Instagram account reported that the wombats have begun exhibiting behavior that is unusual for animals.





Greenpeace activists have noticed that during forest fires, the animals allow other animals into their burrows. In this way, they help those in danger escape the flames. Wombat burrows are very deep and can survive any fire in them. Zoologists once discovered a burrow whose total length reached 90 meters! It had 28 entrances.



Greenpeace members report that when small animals flee flames and smoke by running into wombat burrows, the hosts show hospitality by not evicting the uninvited guests. Under normal circumstances, wombats are not inclined to share their habitat with anyone and bravely defend it. But during forest fires, their behavior changes dramatically.

The compassionate wombats, according to Greenpeace, help millions of small animals survive. In 2020, Australia was engulfed in fires the likes of which the continent had never seen. Millions of hectares of forest burned, and, by the most conservative estimates, around a billion animals perished.





Underground shelters provide refuge for a wide variety of animals, birds, and reptiles. Cameras at the entrances to the burrows have shown rock wallabies, possum rats, lizards, and birds occasionally hiding there. Occasionally, even little penguins visit the wombats!

Reluctant rescuers?

However, zoologists say this information may not be entirely accurate. Yes, wombat burrows are home to a huge number of fire victims. But the owners of these underground galleries may not be aware of this. The fact is that many animals have multiple dwellings, from two to fourteen. Wombats periodically live in one burrow, then another. Most likely, only empty burrows serve as shelter for the animals. Therefore, information about "merciful wombats" requires verification.



The fires on the Green Continent are caused by global warming. But these fires, in turn, are changing the planet's climate. Smoke from the forest fires reached New Zealand and then crossed the Pacific Ocean. Traces of it were found in South America, thousands of kilometers from Australia. Chile was hit hardest, with smog obscuring the skies over several regions of the country for days.