A woman recently heard soft rustling coming from behind a mound of laundry in her shed.
Two large brown eyes were peering up at her when she cautiously pulled back piece of the cloth, and she knew she had to help.
To the woman’s surprise, a stranded wombat had found refuge in the warm blankets. She contacted Yolandi Vermaak, president and founder of Wombat Rescue, but by the time Vermaak arrived, the wombat had already left.
Luckily, the wombat soon returned. This time, Vermaak caught the little girl back in her favorite blanket. Vermaak initially worried the rescue would run, but the wombat seemed happy where she was.
“She wasn’t going to bolt. Not at all,” Vermaak wrote in a Facebook post. “She was snug as a bug in that blue blanket and not giving it up.”
Vermaak determined a big rainstorm caused the wombat’s burrow to flood, leading her to seek shelter in the comfy, dry laundry. Vermaak asked the woman if she might let the wombat stay for a few days while her burrow dried, and the woman was happy to help.
“This woman went above and beyond,” Vermaak told The Dodo. “[She added] an old mattress [and] also took a blanket and hung it over pegs over the mattress to form a little cave … to give the wombat a little security. The wombat loved this and slept under it for a few days.”
Vermaak treated the wombat for mange, and the wombat appeared happy to finally get the care she needed.
“She didn’t growl or run,” Vermaak said. “[She] just lay there and let me treat her.”
Vermaak believes when a wombat is at your doorstep, it’s because they’re in trouble — usually due to a compromised burrow or illness — because they don’t otherwise interact with humans.
“[When] they go into sheds or under porches,” Vermaak said, “[they] are asking for help.”
With a dry burrow to return to, and a coat that’s free from dangerous mange, this lucky wombat is surely feeling grateful for all the people who helped her.
And if she ever finds her burrow flooded again, she knows there’s a safe, warm blanket nearby.
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