Wombats are a four-legged marsupial that are native to Australia. They’re known for being stocky little mammals with short, stubby tails and a face no one on Earth can resist. Patrick the Wombat just happens to be the oldest living wombat in captivity… and quite possibly the cutest.
Wombat Pat (as I like to call him) resides at Ballarat Wildlife Park in Australia. When he isn’t busy doing marsupial things, he hangs out with his handlers. They may be the luckiest people in the world.
Wombats may look like big rodents (like capybaras), but they are marsupials.
That means they are mammals that raise their babies in itty bitty pouches.
Their pouch is backwards, unlike kangaroos.
Wombats tend to burrow, so these backwards pouches protect their young.
Patrick is 27 years-old (most wombats in captivity only live to be about 20).
This basically makes him the Wombat King.
It’s easy to see why. Not only is he big and wise, but he’s super cuddly, too.
Wombat Pat was orphaned when he was still a baby. His mom was run over by a car, so his rescuers took him out of the pouch and brought him to a rehabilitation center. Ever since he was a baby, he was hand-reared. He loves humans so much, he refuses to be released into the wild. His handlers have attempted to release him multiple times and he always finds his way back.
We love you, too, Patrick!
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