Man mauled in rare wombat attack

A rare wombat attack has left a Black Saturday survivor with bite wounds to his arms and legs.

Bruce Kringle, aged in his 50s, got more than he bargained for when he emerged from his caravan at Flowerdale, north-east of Melbourne, on Tuesday morning, to be attacked by a wombat.

Mr Kringle, who is waiting for his new house to be built, was set upon by the wombat which mauled his leg and then managed to pull him to the ground.

Kelly Smith, who works at the Flowerdale Hotel, said the wombat then jumped on Mr Kringle's chest and continued scratching him with its claws.

"Bruce managed to find an axe and killed it," Ms Smith told AAP.

"It's bizarre what happened.

"He's okay but the wombat mauled his leg, got him to the ground and then started clawing at his chest."

She said Mr Kringle is living in a caravan on his block of land until his house is built.

Paramedics cleaned the man's wounds and took him to the Northern Hospital in Epping in a stable condition.

Geoff McClure, compliance team leader for the Department of Sustainability and Environment, said a wombat attack was extremely unusual.

He said wombats could feel threatened and rush at a person, especially if the animal was suffering from the skin condition mange, caused by parasitic mites.

''In the advanced stages wombats become very irritable and anyone who approaches them, they usually view as a threat and may run towards them,'' he said.

''They appear aggressive but we have never had reports of wombats actually attacking people.''

- with AAP

- © Fairfax NZ News