Hamlet: February 1, 1982 — July 6, 2016

Hamlet, the Toronto Zoo’s 34-year-old southern hairy-nosed wombat, passed away peacefully in Scarborough on Wednesday, surrounded by his keepers.

He leaves behind his daughter Nan — the first wombat born in Canada, now living in San Diego — his grandchildren Kambora and Kindillan, and three great-grandchildren, Matilba, Murray and Glen.

He is also mourned by his wombat roommate, Arthur, who joined the zoo in 2012.

Hamlet was a direct relative of six of the seven remaining wombats currently living in North American zoos. Born in 1982 at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, he moved to the Toronto zoo in 1984 and was one of the first animals to fill the Australasia Pavilion, becoming a long-time ambassador for Australian wildlife. He will also be missed by neighbours Annie, the Echidna anteater; Tobi, the Bettong rat kangaroo; and Franchesca, the swamp wallaby.

Staff and members of the zoo remember Hamlet as “quite a mellow wombat” who sometimes liked to have his head and rump scratched.

“Literally every person that worked in the Australasia Pavilion worked with Hamlet,” said zookeeper Brent Huffman, who worked directly with the aging wombat for the last six years. “He holds a special place in our hearts. He was so unique . . . and playful at times.”

Visitors to the zoo recall with fondness how Hamlet always appeared to be winking — the elder wombat had his left eye removed in 2012 after developing an infection.

Hamlet officially became the oldest living wombat in 2015, which kept elevating his profile, said Huffman. But fame didn’t go to his head.

A Facebook tribute to Hamlet pointed out he had a significant impact on the world’s scientific knowledge of wombats. In 2012, he participated in an international research study on the digestive efficiency of this species. Hamlet was in his element: He just had to eat. Every day, Hamlet would eat his peanut butter and banana sandwich first, then his other favourite foods, including root vegetables and leafy dandelion greens.

“Hamlet just had to do his own thing,” said Huffman, who was his keeper during the study. “Hamlet contributed a lot to our knowledge of wombat metabolism. He was their oldest sample.”

In later life, Hamlet’s favourite activity was sleeping — which is normal for a nocturnal wombat — but reportedly he slept a lot. He also enjoyed his morning breakfast, exploring the new tunnels that Matilba and Arthur dug in their shared space and was partial to a yellow bucket that keepers would use for leftover hay and manure.

More recently, Hamlet suffered arthritis in one of his shoulders and some recurring dental issues. With his appetite in decline, he also began losing weight. When treatments on the world’s oldest wombat had little effect, zoo staff were notified during their morning meeting that the vets were considering euthanasia.

“Everyone just kind of went, ‘Awwwww,’ and the whole room had this heavy sigh, hearing it was time,” said Huffman. “I felt very passionately about Hamlet, all the keepers feel the same way.”

He was less than three months shy of the longevity record for his species. But, in that sleep of death, what dreams may come.

Wombat facts

15 years: The average life span of a wombat in the wild.

25 years: the average life span of a wombat in captivity.

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3: number of wombat species in the world: the common wombat; the northern hairy-nose wombat; and the southern hairy-nose wombat.

44-77 lbs: average weight of a wombat

40 km/h: the speed they can run, despite looking fat and slow.