Are there not easier ways for herding wombats in for the night?
Though i don't know much about wombats, i know they have pretty nifty claws, and picking them up, especially with bare arms......could result in a few scratches?
If you know what your doing it's fairly safe, even with a wild wombat (although wild ones do tend to struggle a lot). Younger ones, while even easier to pick up, are more likely to get their back legs up to scratch your arm. Although with younger ones it's usually their teeth you're worried about!
This keeper appears to be holding a back leg with her left hand - not too sure why. If I use my left hand it would be to support the rump, underneath.
As far as herding them goes, wombats can be pretty stubborn and if they don't want to go where you want them to, then carry them is the quickest and easiest way. That said, hand-tame wombats - as these appear to be - will often just follow the keeper around, especially when young.
True, but as you will find if you look at the discussion that followed one of my other photos of the Wombat enclosure (can't remember which one) you'll find that size is not all. I was myself very impressed by it when I saw it, but then a keeper on this forum explained to me that it was one of the worst there are; not in terms of exhibition but in terms of wombat husbandry.
