11th May Hairy-Nosed Day

It is Hairy-Nosed Day, a day when we think about the plight of the Hairy-nosed wombat.

This week as I wandered past a remainder book store I saw Hairy Nose Itchy Butt for five dollars and thought I must get the library's copy off the shelf and give it to one of the Kinder teachers because they are studying Australian animals at the moment, and then I walked into my local bookshop and found a new book - The Hairy-Nosed Wombats Find a New Home by the wombat-loving Jackie French and Sue deGennaro. In the foreword and the notes at the back of this book Jacqui Mills the Director of the Wombat Foundation tells the reader that the Northern Hairy-nosed wombat is 'one of the world's rarest species - it is rarer than the Giant Panda.'

The story then is a charming picture book for young children about the endangered hairy nosed wombat and their search for a new home.  Once upon a time, deep underground, there was a colony of wonderfully whiskery wombats who all had hairy noses. They lived in the only home for Hairy-nosed wombats in the world. Could there ever be another home for Hairy-noses?  The story is based on the reality of how finding a happy new home for Hairy-nosed wombats helped one of the world's most endangered species to breed and thrive again. All the author royalties are being donated towards wombat research and care.


Author Jill Morris has also written at length about these wombats in her three picture books about the Hairy- nosed wombat, Harry the Hairy-nosed Wombat; Wombat Down Below! and  The Wombat Who Talked to the Stars.

This certainly is enough books to share with young children in order to convince them that these rare animals are worth saving and celebrating.

The background information and teaching resources to go with the plight of the Northern Hairy-nosed wombat can be found here and although this article is about Southern Hairy-nosed wombats, it has some wonderful photos and is worth discussing with a class.