The Conversation

Tales of wombat 'heroes' have gone viral. Unfortunately, they're not true

14-01-2020 Author: Dale Nimmo, Associate professor/ARC DECRA fellow, Charles Sturt University

Wombats may not usher other animals into their burrows, but their warrens still protect other species in bushfires.Liv Falvey/Shutterstock

If you’ve been following the bushfire crisis on social media and elsewhere, you may have seen reports of benevolent wombats herding other animals to shelter into their fire-proof burrows.

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