Scientist rated toys: Bare-nosed Wombat
- smithtessar
- Jan 23, 2020
- 8 min read
Updated: Nov 22, 2022
After the success of the previous Tasmanian Devil soft toy ranking blog, I have decided to continue on with another, this time covering my favorite (vertebrate) animal, the bare-nosed wombat. I recruited two fellows who know know their way around a wombat to rate the scientific accuracy of soft toys, they are:
Jack Ashby is the Manager of the University Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge, whose key research interest is in the natural history of Australia and its mammals. Jack tweets a lot about Australian animals (more than most Australians) and has recently written a very interesting book.
Kotaro Tokano is a Masters of Applied Science (Biological Science) graduate at the University of Tasmania, who worked on trialing a new wombat mange (Sarcoptes scabiei) treatment in Tasmania.
As I was growing up outside Melbourne, Australia on a bush property, wombats were always around. You would see them on your nightly drive home alongside the road, and as dark slowly-moving patches in the middle of a paddock. Their infamous cubic poo was hard to ignore, especially when it was placed upon your bike or other outdoor items laying on the ground. Some of my favorite childhood books featured wombats, two of which were Harry the Hairy-Nosed Wombat and Wombats don’t have Christmas. I gained from some of these books the anthropomorphic idea that wombats were able to negotiate any challenge by simply finding another way around (nice in concept but doesn’t really help them tackle challenges like mange or road collisions).
I had names for the wombats that lived near my house, a mix of Shakespeare characters and members of the British royal family. This name choice interested me recently, when on a 2014 tour of Australia Prince George was even given a large stuffed wombat by the Australian Governor-General Peter Cosgrove when he visited Sydney. The Governor-General had chosen the toy due to Prince William being nicknamed ‘wombat’ by his mother when he was young (2007 Matt Lauer interview with Princes William and Harry).
The ratings *drum roll*:
Kotaro Tokano: Although the overall impression for size and colour is not too bad, this little wombat lacks claws which are essential for this burrowing marsupial, but I can see some efforts were put into the detail of ears. 2.5
Jack Ashby: I really like this one – it seems to capture the air of tired melancholy that is inescapably detected when you stare into the small black eyes of a wombat. The hair seems to be a little more dishevelled than even the dampest of wombats in a Tasmanian rainstorm (for an animal that lives underground, wombats’ short hair seems to remain stubbornly neat). Accuracy-wise they are slightly over-egging the whiteness seen in some wombat’s ears, and no effort has gone into the feet. 4.0
Average: 3.25
Kotaro Tokano: This one looks pretty good in the body shape and facial structure, and nice try on putting some details such as the white eyelids, but is had got only three fingers instead of five. 3.5
Jack Ashby: Clearly they are aiming for a hairy-nosed wombat with this one – identifiable by the massive ears and the ring around the eyes (which isn’t seen in all individuals). Fur is nice and short. The sense that it won’t meet your eyes is also a nice touch – however close you get to a grazing wombat, they always seem to have an embarrassed shyness. The emphasis on the claws is clearly intended to highlight that they are well endowed for digging, but it’s a shame they don’t get the number right (it should be five on each). 4.0
Average: 3.75
Kotaro Tokano: This one looks okay overall, but I feel uncomfortable with the eyes which somehow look like fish eyes to me… and super expensive! 2.0
Jack Ashby: I have never seen a wombat appear as alert as this one. Wombats don’t have obvious brown irises, so their eyes don’t appear two-toned. Not sure why it’s been given a triangular face marking either: wombats are very square of face. The overall blockiness is pleasing, but the bum’s all wrong. Wombats are all about the bass: their bums stick out behind their back legs almost as far as their heads extend beyond their front legs. 1.5
Average: 1.75
Kotaro Tokano: I think this one is way too hairy for wombats, which makes it look like Chewbacca in Star Wars. I did not know he loved Australia. Anyway, the cheap price came with the cheap quality. 1.5
Jack Ashby: I have described wombats as the most cuboidal of animals, and I sense that’s what they are going for with this one, but to be honest it’s over the top. The hair is cheap, and over-fluffed. Wombat eyes and noses are never hidden like this. 1.0
Average: 1.25
Kotaro Tokano: Not disastrous, though the snout is a little too rounded and it is massive compared to its body size! And again, the feet are not nicely done. 2.5
Jack Ashby: This wombat almost looks angry, which is not what you want to see in a cuddly toy. Shape-wise there is clearly a wombat vibe, but the head:body ratio is all wrong. The two-tone eyes are also a mistake, and the projecting bum is missing, but I like the dumpiness. 2.5
Average: 2.50
Kotaro Tokano: I think this one looks more like a teddy bear rather than a wombat. I know that the bare-nosed wombat has got its scientific name Vombatus ursusI (Latin ursus, bear) because of its bear-like appearance, but it is too much. 2.0
Jack Ashby: It’s hard to tell from this angle, but it appears that this toy makes reference to the fact that when walking, wombats are one of the few animals that are tallest in the middle. This toy seems to correctly slope downwards towards both the head and the backside. But I’m not sure why I don’t like it as the eyes are small and piggish, and the nose is big and round. Perhaps it’s because the head is too spherical. 1.5
Average: 1.75
Kotaro Tokano: I would say this one has got a quality for the relatively cheap price! It has got a pointy snout and claws on the feet. The body shape also looks pretty accurate! 4.0
Jack Ashby: I don’t know what has just happened to this wombat, but I hope it never happens to me. What a troubling expression! 2.0
Average: 3.00
Kotaro Tokano: I would [think] this a real wombat, if I see this in the middle of field! A bit expensive, but acceptable for the size and quality. 4.5
Jack Ashby: The shape is great: the head sags glumly downwards, the back and bum are round, the legs are barely discernible from the body. I love it. They mixed the lighter ears of (some) common wombats with the lighter eye-rings of (some) hairy-nosed wombats, and the toe-count is wrong again, but its overall wombattiness is excellent. 4.5
Average: 4.50
Kotaro Tokano: This one needs to use its chin to support its weight, which makes it very hard to walk and survive in the wild. I give an extra point to this one as it is clearly Aussie made, which is nice. 2.5
Jack Ashby: It’s like someone shaved a hedgehog and made it have babies with a seal. 0.0
Average: 1.25
Kotaro Tokano: Very good looking, and the quality is as high as the candidate #8! However, the price is not affordable for children. 4.0
Jack Ashby: This seems to be cut from the same cloth as number 8, but with shorter hair. Perhaps this one is from New South Wales and the other one was Tasmanian. 4.5
Average: 4.25
Kotaro Tokano: This one makes me wonder how many people can tell this is actually a wombat. At least, I would not be able to. 0.5
Jack Ashby: All I see is a beaver with no tail. I’ll give it half a point as actually beavers and wombats have a lot in common: ever-growing teeth and massive jaw muscles. 0.5
Average: 0.50
Kotaro Tokano: I feel like all the Australian made wombat soft toys (candidates #3, 5, and 9) have the same characteristics, such as a too rounded face and badly done feet etc. 2.5
Jack Ashby: I bought one of these on my first ever trip to Tasmania and I am very fond of it. It misses a trick by omitting the massive butt, but I adore the rotundness of the overall shape. 3.5
Average: 3.00
Kotaro Tokano: What is wrong with your nose?! I can see some efforts were made on the eyes and ears, but the rest is pretty disastrous. 1.0
Jack Ashby: If I saw this in a shop in the UK I would go through several wrong guesses before identifying it as a wombat. It could pass for a guinea pig, or possibly Fizzgig from The Dark Crystal. They get marks for giving it whiskers. 2.0
Average: 1.50
Kotaro Tokano: I quite like this one. The bad points are the lack of details on the feet and colour which should be darker. 3.5
Jack Ashby: Not bad, but the white ears are WAY too bright. Light inner-ears are only seen in some individuals, and they are chiefly caused by a sparseness of hair relative to the surroundings, rather than big tufts of white hair. There seems to be some good shape to the bum, which gets it an extra point. 3.5
Average: 3.50
Kotaro Tokano: It probably looks cute for children, but I am confused whether this is bare-nosed or hairy-nosed wombat. Anyway, the face is too rounded and way too hairy for wombats. 3.0
Jack Ashby: Let’s assume that this one is sitting down on its haunches, which wombats do sometimes when basking in the sun near the entrances to their burrows. The pink of the ear is an improvement on the white we’ve seen before. The nose being a more similar colour to the face is also good, and I applaud the jowliness: wombat heads are really blocky. We’re still yet to see a toy wombat with the correct number of toes. 3.5
Average: 3.25
Kotaro Tokano: I am impressed with this one, as it has been the first one with five claws! However, this one look more likely to a koala walking on the ground because of the face and furry ears, rather than a wombat. 3.5
Jack Ashby: I spoke too soon: I spy 20 toes at last! It’s only the second one we’ve seen with whiskers too (whiskers are handy for sensing your way through a pitch-black underground burrow). I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a wombat pounce, which this one looks set to do. 2.5
Average: 3.00
Kotaro Tokano: Again, this one also looks like a koala, not a wombat. I know they are close relatives, but wombat’s ears are smaller and snout is more pointy than those of koalas. 2.5
Jack Ashby: I wish Winnie the Pooh had had a wombat friend – I’m sure this is what it would have looked like. But he didn’t. Non-bat. 0.0
Average: 1.25
Kotaro Tokano: It is a very animated version of wombat! Although this soft toy has only a few characteristics of wombats, it might be cute enough to make little kids interested in the animal 2.0
Jack Ashby: I’m pleased that there are toys available to inspire a passion for wombats in newborn babies. Wombat aren’t two-toned on their bellies, though, and their noses aren’t wet like a dogs (I presume that’s what the white bit represents). Nice little black eyes. As it’s for the baby market, a generous 3.0
Average: 2.50
Kotaro Tokano: This is a teddy bear with a belly button, not a wombat. Marsupials including wombats do not have a belly button, since their umbilical cords usually fall off while in their mother’s pouch, and a scar never forms. Anyway, though it looks cute, it is almost all wrong! 1.0
Jack Ashby: Common wombats’ scientific name is Vombatus ursinus, where ‘ursinus´ means ‘bear-like’. This toy, however, goes too far: there’s nothing about this toy that makes me think it isn’t a bear. There’s also an anatomical impossibility: wombats don’t have belly buttons. 0.0
Average: 0.50
The results!
The most accurate wombat toy was the Wombat no. 8, closely followed by Wombat 10, both very large wombats, and very pricey. Looks like you could get yourself a reasonable one (rated >3.5) for around $20.
Some things we have learned rating toys:
Wombats do not have belly buttons.Many toy manufacturers think wombats have 3 toes/foot, instead of 5, and ears are often overly light in colour.Wombats are highest in the middle.A protruding rump is an important wombatty feature (need space for the boney- butt).Many people like me LOVE wombats, and for good reason (I mean, just look at them)…
If you have no need to buy a wombat soft toy, you can help wombats out by donating to any of the following charities:
Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, TasmaniaWombat Rescue Tasmania, TasmaniaMange Management, Victoriathe Wombat Foundation, Queensland
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