The painfully thin wombat has nearly no hair on its back and thick skin crusting over its eyes, leaving it at the mercy of the elements.

The stricken creature was spotted wandering near Ben Chifley Dam this week and the sight immediately raised concerns in our newsroom.

But, as we soon learned, those concerns are nothing new to local ecologists and wildlife carers.

To them, the image was just another reminder of the terrible disease that is attacking – and killing – wombats not only in the Bathurst region, but across the country.

They have been treating sick wombats for a while now and the problem is becoming so widespread that a community information meeting is being arranged in Yetholme early in October.

Wombat Protection Society chairman David Alder will address the meeting, explaining how to recognise sick wombats and who to call, and the treatments which are being trialled.

These include a burrow flap that is set up in the mouth of a burrow to give the animal a dose of medicine that treats the mange.

We can only hope the treatment is successful because it would be a tragedy to see local populations wiped out by this scourge.

It has taken Australians too long to recognise the importance and beauty of our natural assets and even now we are still playing catch-up in many areas.

And while humans have often been responsible for pushing species to the brink of extinction, it’s heartening to see that humans, in this case, might be responsible instead for saving a species.

Let’s hope so, at least.