On one Australian island, anyway — as the New York Times’ Palko Karasz wrote, in “Dear People: The Wombat Needs Space. Stand Back.”
It’s about wombats and selfies and tourists taking selfies and stuff like that. My favorite section concerns the pledge tourists are asked to take when they arrive by ferry on the island:
Wombats, when you trundle past me I pledge I will not chase you with my selfie stick, or get too close to your babies. I will not surround you, or try and pick you up. I will make sure I don’t leave rubbish or food from my morning tea. I pledge to let you stay wild.
Unlike peaceful and sensible wombats…
Humans seeking the perfect selfie have even been known to imperil their own lives — a phenomenon named the “killfie.”
The “killfie.” Well, at least we humans — some of us, anyway — can claim we invented it.
I knew that wombats existed. I did not know anything about them, though, until I watched the delightfully eccentric Australian TV series, “The Heart Guy,” on Acorn TV. During series 3, episode 4 (write that down), a maybe injured wombat appears on the road and is taken in by Penny and her son.
Which is the first time I saw a wombat. This wombat seems to have no problem being lugged around (he’s pretty big and heavy) by anyone who wants to lug him, and who peacefully sits on anyone’s lap.
What sort of surprised me is how I was the only person involved in this episode who noticed how very big the wombat’s claws were. True, he didn’t move enough to brandish them but still, they’re big.
And aside from telling you that when a wombat pees, he pees long and muchly, that’s all I know about wombats.
So there.