Wombat nicknamed Ian Thorpe after being rescued from Canberra lake
December 10, 2023 6:23 PM Subscribe
Wombat nicknamed Ian Thorpe after being rescued from a Canberra lake by a woman in a kayak. A wombat earns the nickname, Ian Thorpe, after swimming for nearly 40 minutes before being rescued by a woman in a kayak from Yerrabi Pond in Canberra's north after a thunderstorm.
After I read the article I was a little worried for Ian's prognosis, but some quick Googling turned up this Facebook post which made me hopeful!
posted by sigmagalator at 7:04 PM on December 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by sigmagalator at 7:04 PM on December 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
The middle of a lake seems like a burrowing creature’s worst nightmare. None of your tools are relevant….
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:05 PM on December 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:05 PM on December 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
All things considered I feel compelled to point out that Ian was the predominant middle-distance swimmer of his day but Grant Hackett, another Australian, was the miler.
And, jokes aside, his last world record (the short course metres 800 freestyle) was broken this week. Oldest world record on the books too.
That being said, yeah, 40min has got to be all kinds of records for a wombat.
posted by mce at 8:16 PM on December 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
And, jokes aside, his last world record (the short course metres 800 freestyle) was broken this week. Oldest world record on the books too.
That being said, yeah, 40min has got to be all kinds of records for a wombat.
posted by mce at 8:16 PM on December 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
I do look forward to the wombat named after Jim Thorpe being found running way too far a distance into the outback and having to be rescued.
posted by hippybear at 9:08 PM on December 10, 2023
posted by hippybear at 9:08 PM on December 10, 2023
OK, fine. I fired up Chrome to check out the story on Facebook. (Thanks, sigmalator.) And yeah, I got a little teary. Just shut up! Shut up! Dear little wombat.
posted by SPrintF at 11:16 PM on December 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 11:16 PM on December 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Glad the Iittle chap got rescued! I am a bit surprised that wombats can swim at all. They seem so solid, as if they would sink like a rock when they hit the water.
posted by Fuchsoid at 9:38 AM on December 11, 2023
posted by Fuchsoid at 9:38 AM on December 11, 2023
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What is that in human time, like a day and a half? Holy shit!
posted by hippybear at 6:54 PM on December 10, 2023