Dr Alyce Swinbourne is a wombat specialist based at the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Adelaide. She says the animals use their amazing armoured backsides (made up of four hard plates) as a weapon, and to defend their burrows against predators. We'll ask her more about this often overlooked peril of the Outback, and how she became fascinated by these multifaceted marsupials. Alyce Swinbourne and a wombat.