A pair of orphaned Southern Hairy Nosed Wombats is being sent from South Australia to Toronto Zoo, Canada, to participate in a new wombat breeding program. The project has been facilitated by Zoos South Australia, a non-profit conservation organisation, where rescued wombats are sent to participating North American zoos.

The import, which took five years to arrange, requires the wombats to have a 30-day quarantine stay in Chicago's Brookfield Zoo on the way to Canada.

At a handover ceremony at the Brookfield Zoo, the zoo's Public Relations Vice President Matthew Mayer thanked the Australian Government, the South Australian Government and Zoos South Australia for their support and assistance for the North American breeding program.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Chicago post and the Chicago Zoological Society will co-host a symposium on the North America wombat breeding program in October 2012.