Wombat Life Span
A baby Southern hairy nosed wombat (picture courtesy Wendy Morphett, used with permission)
In the wild, the Common wombat can live to over 5 years, up to 15 years by some accounts. In captivity, a Common wombat in a London Zoo lived to be 26 years and 1 month old. Currently there are a couple of Common wombats (Chewbacca and Hiroki) who are over 20 years old in zoos in Japan.
Carver, a Hairy-nosed wombat in the Brookfield zoo in Chicago, Illinois (USA), is currently 32 years old. This is the oldest documented age of any wombat, captive or wild. The average life span of a Hairy-nosed wombat in the wild is estimated to be 10-12 years. A Hairy nosed wombat that was caught twice in the wild, many years apart, confirmed that they can live at least 20 years.
To read more about the world's oldest wombat, visit Carver's page here.