Meet Patrick. He’s the world’s oldest living wombat who just turned 29.

 

In the wild, wombats typically only live for about five years. In captivity they usually live to around 20.

 

At 38kg (84 lbs), the well-fed marsupial is the largest common wombat on earth.

 

He has spent all his life at Ballarat Wildlife Park in Victoria, and was hand-raised by the park owners after being orphaned as a joey.

 

According to Tourism Australia, “the team at the park tried releasing Patrick back into the wild a couple of times but he couldn’t defend himself against other wombats”.

 

When he was young, Patrick spent many years greeting park visitors in a wheelbarrow.

 

Now he’s content with just posing with park visitors.

 

He’s made many TV appearances, and is quite a ham in front of the camera.

 

Patrick is a celebrity that is loved by many

 

Happy Birthday Patrick!

 

Patrick was was orphaned when he was still a joey. His mom was run over by a car, so his rescuers removed him from the pouch and brought him to a rehabilitation center. Since being rescued, he has been hand-reared. He loves humans so much, he refuses to be released into the wild. His handlers have attempted to release him multiple times and he always finds his way back.

Be sure to share Patrick’s awesomeness with others.