Winnie & Polly 

These are the varios stories from our calendars about them both. 

2027 calendar:  Polly and Winnie were a very snuggly pair both soft released 2021. Winnie, now 10, is regularly seen on wildlife cameras with new joeys every few years.  She takes advantage of the huge main wombatorium, now with its heavy wombat door permanently unlocked. It’s a safe place for a number of mums to come and go, as no foxes dogs, goannas or pigs have figured out how to get in. It’s a warren of tunnels, and quite dangerous to walk in as digging continues.  She, like other mums seems to move around various burrows with her joey as if showing them the area  Seeing Mums and joeys interacting on wildlife cameras is a real insight into their behaviour. 

2025 calendar: Polly was orphaned by a car and sadly met her own fate thanks to a speeding car, a majour killer of wildlife. She'd had 5 years of good life, was gentle in nature and a favourite of ours. We had to share this lovely photo of such an intelligent girl. Wombats, like many other native species, are in decline. There are only 315 Northern hairy-nosed wombats left on the planet. Southern hairy-nosed wombats only remain in a few small pockets, and the Common (Bare-nosed) wombat is no longer common. Habitat loss, roads and mange are major threats. 

2024 calendar: Winnie, now 6 years old, we think is living about 3km away at a neighbour's place who has seen a large lighter-coloured wombat now and then in burrows nearby. Females normally disperse and that's what she's done. Seeing who we think is Winnie is really great as she had just recovered from an infection when released. They are seeing a few wombats and all mange free which is really great. It's a huge area here between Blue mountains National Park and Sydney Water Catchment with huge steep valleys and creeks winding through.

2023 Calendar Polly came to us in 2018 at 3kg with such a sweet nature and just so loved a cuddle and sleep on our laps after her bottle. She loved her wombatorium burrow but would still come out when called for her bottle. After her soft release in 2021 she has stayed close as she was 3 years old, held over due to the bushfires and floods. It's unusual she did not disperse like females normally do, but demonstrates the lack of grass in the totally burnt forests. She had obviously found a dry burrow. Vale Polly hit by a car in May 

2023 Calendar: Winnie came to us with Polly at 3kg after Erin had raised them as buddies from when they were little pinkies less than 400g. Winnie was very much the shy girl but both were inseparable and as they grew bigger they supported each other, needing less cuddles from us. This is why we buddy up orphaned joeys; without mum it helps them to become more resilient, giving them a better chance of successful release. There is a large grey wombat we have been seeing occasionally and we think it could be Winnie.

2021 Calendar: Polly was not impressed with 440mm rain overnight and helped us dig a trench to allow Winnie out without getting to wet! Polly and Winnie were held in care an extra year due to severe drought and a pending bad fire season; we’re so glad we did. They will start their soft release as the land recovers with support feeding thru Summer as well. Polly is around 26kg and very fussy about the fresh grass she gets. Being quite wild, a quick nip on the leg results if grass delivery is slow.  occasionally on our wildlife cameras, looking quite big and healthy. When digging burrows Wombats roll onto their backs perfecting lovely curved roofs; they often sleep on their backs as well.

Polly 2021
Polly has been a lovely wombat and was happily buddied with Winnie. Both were kept in care much longer than planned due to the bushfires and aftermath, and as they matured some argumentative hissing developed. Polly is now released and she has quite a personality. Still getting her bearings in the big wild world, she is sometimes found late at night curled up asleep somewhere around the house. She stands her ground but we think Star Man has been a bit amorous and they can often be heard chasing each other around late at night. 

2021 calendar:  Shy Winnie is rarely seen, but our wildlife cameras in the wombatorium tell us she’s ok. A big girl at about 27kg, she released herself by forcing the pen door in August. She’s doing well and can be seen at the feed station for that bit extra as she settles into a new world. Polly will be joining her shortly and it will be interesting if they are seen together at all. Motion sensing cameras constantly monitor both the wild and released animals, time spent daily reading cards and discussing whats happening out there.

2020 Calendar: Polly has always been a great digger she has dug down and under her wombatorium wall many times since she was about 12kg. She seems to enjoy the odd night or 2 out then is happy to stay in for months. This wall is buried 900mm into the ground! Since she and Winnie moved up to the high school, she’s been happy in their main burrow, but still digs, so you have to be careful where you walk. Due for release around February 2020, we rarely see them now. They’re getting quite shy of people, which is a good thing; leading them to become resilient wild wombats.

Winnie and Polly 2019 Calendar:were often getting stuck trying to get out of their box together. They came to Rocklily at around 3 kg and love rumbling and playing together. They will be here till they are around 22 kg when we will be releasing them into the wild, from their wombatorium. Winnie cannot stop moving, rarely sits still!

2019Polly was rescued from her dead mum’s pouch and cared for untill she was 3kg then she came to Rocklily with Winnie as an inseperatable pair. She’s the charecter of the two, getting into the most mischief.We will release Polly in September 2019