Meet Preston, the Hand Raised Pygmy Wombat

The endangered ‘Pygmy Wombat’ (Broad-Toothed Rat) was rejected by his mother and saved by Ms Shute

Aussie Ark has achieved another world first with the hand-raising of Preston the "Pygmy Wombat", an endangered Broad-Toothed Rat born as part of the organisation’s groundbreaking conservation program.

Preston was born as part of Aussie Ark’s pioneering Broad-Toothed Rat breeding and rewilding program, housed within the Conservation Ark facility at Somersby on the NSW Central Coast. The program made headlines in August 2024 when it established the planet’s first-ever insurance population for this exquisite and little-known Australian species.

Managing Director Tim Faulkner led the inaugural trapping mission that secured six founding adults. It was during this work that he began affectionately calling the Broad-Toothed Rat the “Pygmy Wombat”, a nickname that has quickly captured hearts.

“The word ‘rat’ has such negative connotations and doesn’t do this animal justice,” Mr Faulkner said.

“In fact, the species name is misleading. It’s not in the rattus genus at all, it’s part of the mastacomys genus and its personality couldn’t be further from a typical rat. It’s gentle, shy, doesn’t bite or smell, and has a round face, button nose and sparkly eyes just like a tiny wombat.

“So we started calling it the Pygmy Wombat… and the name has stuck.”

Preston the Pygmy Wombat was one of two pups recently born to a founding female in Conservation Ark. For an unknown reason, the mother rejected Preston. Conservation Ark Rangers found the deserted youngster and repeatedly tried to re-bond the pup with its mother. But the mother continued to reject Preston. Without her, Preston would have died.

Determined to save his life, the team stepped in. Preston was taken into intensive care and is now being personally hand-raised by Aussie Ark Chief Conservation Officer Hayley Shute.

Ms Shute now brings Preston with her everywhere, to work each day and home each night, providing constant warmth, monitoring and feeds of specialist guinea-pig milk delivered carefully by syringe.

“It takes him a long time to drink what he needs to survive,” Ms Shute said. “Lucky I’m patient! But it’s worth every second of effort. He’s the sweetest, rarest little animal I’ve ever had the privilege to care for, and I’ll do everything possible to ensure he has a future.”

In the wild, the Broad-Toothed Rat lives in fragile, high-altitude swamps, including the Barrington Tops region. Today, these fragmented populations are being decimated by habitat loss and damage from feral animals. Wild horses, deer and pigs trample the delicate alpine swamps, while foxes and cats devour Pygmy Wombats.

Without urgent conservation action, this unique Australian mammal faces imminent extinction.

Because Preston is being hand-raised he will not rejoin Aussie Ark’s breeding and rewilding program. IInstead, he will play a vital role as an ambassador for his species, helping educate the public and shine a spotlight on one of Australia’s most overlooked threatened animals.

With his gentle nature and unmistakably wombat-like face, Aussie Ark hopes Preston will help the world fall in love with the Pygmy Wombat, and inspire action to protect its future.

To support Preston’s care and Aussie Ark’s vital work breeding and protecting the endangered Broad-Toothed Rat, visit aussieark.org.au