Depressed wombat pines for human contact, and more

A wombat at an Australian zoo has been diagnosed with depression, but it’s not because he’s caged.

Depressed wombat pines for human contact

A wombat at an Australian zoo has been diagnosed with depression, but it’s not because he’s caged. Keepers were concerned when Tonka, 2, the star attraction at Queensland’s Billabong Sanctuary, lost 20 percent of his weight after a recent cyclone devastated the region and shut the zoo for eight weeks. Veterinarians ran a battery of expensive physiological tests before concluding that Tonka was suffering from a withdrawal of human contact. Zoo spokesman Brett Flemming said Tonka missed “the patting, the photos, the cuddles, and the endless posing for the paparazzi.”

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