The oldest wombat on the planet: how 34-year-old Wayne lives and looks like (photos, video)

34-year-old Wayne is the oldest wombat in the world who has ever been in captivity. SSPDaily tells about it.

The Guinness Book of Records writes about it.

He was rescued from his mother's bag after a car accident in November 1989, which means he was at least 34 years old 100 days ago. However, he could potentially already be 35, as he is believed to have been born in January 1989.

The previous record holder was a wombat named Patrick (1986-2017) who lived in Ballarat Wildlife Park in Victoria, Australia, and was at least 30 years 200 days old at the time of his death.

The life expectancy of wombats in the wild is usually 5-15 years, and in captivity they can live up to twenty years, but Wayne's life expectancy is unprecedented.

"He's a wonderful wombat," said Kojo Sejima, director of the Satsukiyama Zoo in Ikeda, Japan, where Wayne lives.Sejima attributes Wayne's amazing longevity to his low-stress lifestyle: "He sleeps when he wants to sleep and eats when he wants to eat."

Satsukiyama is the second largest zoo in the country, so the staff can take meticulous care of each animal. And since the entrance to the zoo is free, the animals are allowed to live in peace and are not forced to appear in front of visitors.

"There are times when visitors come, but the wombats are hiding in their holes and you can't see them," said Director Sejima.

Wayne came to the zoo in 1990 at the age of one along with two female wombats, Wander and Tia. Wayne had two daughters, Satsuki and Sakura, with Wander, who died at the age of 28.

The birth of Satsuki in 1992 was the first case of successful breeding of wombats outside Australia. According to the zoo staff, Wayne was also closely acquainted with Tia, who died at the age of 14, but the pair never bred.

Unfortunately, neither of Wayne's daughters is alive anymore. Sakura died at the age of 11, and Satsuki, who is now on display as a specimen in the zoo's museum, lived to be 19.

Wayne currently lives with three other wombats: Fuku, an 18-year-old male, and Kou and Yuki, a pair of seven-year-olds.A typical day in Wayne's life includes waking up in the morning, eating breakfast, walking in the field, sleeping in the sun, then getting up again to eat and going for an evening walk.

His morning meal consists of grass and sweet potatoes, and for dinner he eats grass, sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, and apples. All vegetables are cut into smaller pieces to make it easier for Wayne to eat. The zoo also removed all the stairs from the enclosure to accommodate Wayne at his advanced age.

Employees say that the record holder is very sociable and likes to come to visit them when they are around.When Wayne was first awarded the 2022 Guinness World Record title, one of the staff members said: "Since receiving the official certificate, Wayne has attracted a lot of attention and we have received congratulatory letters from zoos all over the country. We have also had an increase in visitors to the zoo. All this tells us that Wayne has achieved something extraordinary."