The Northern hairy-nosed wombat is one of the rarest mammals on Earth, with only about 315 remaining in the wild.

The Northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii) is the largest of the three wombat species and is currently listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. In the early 1980s, the species reached a genetic bottleneck with only 35 individuals surviving in a single location at Epping Forest National Park in Queensland, Australia. This decline was primarily caused by habitat loss and competition for food with introduced livestock like cattle and sheep.To prevent extinction, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science established the 'Richard Underwood Nature Refuge' in 2009 as a second colony site. This 130-hectare site is protected by a specialized predator-proof fence to keep out dingoes and wild dogs, which are the primary threats to adult wombats. A third population was also established at Powrunna State Forest in 2024 to further spread the risk of localized disasters like fire or disease.Conservationists use a non-invasive technique called 'hair-trapping' to monitor the population without causing stress to the nocturnal animals. Double-sided tape is placed across burrow entrances to collect follicles as the wombats pass through. Scientists at the University of Queensland then analyze the DNA from these samples to identify individual wombats, track their health, and monitor genetic diversity. While the population has grown to roughly 315 individuals, the species remains vulnerable because its entire global population exists in only a few small, isolated pockets.