A wombat will hoist an intrusive dingo on its back and crush it against the roof of its burrow.

It can skittle a fully grown man as if a 120-litre barrel had bowled him over.

And in zoos around Australia, it is understood wombats attract the second-highest danger rating, a rung down from lions and bears.

So it comes as no surprise to author and wombat expert James Woodford that 60-year-old bushfire survivor Bruce Kringle wound up in hospital after a sustained mauling from a wombat he encountered during an early morning call of nature.