Tasmania's wombats appear to be winning the battle against key disease

A wombat is seen at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast. Photo / AAP file

Tasmania's wombats appear to be winning the battle against a disease that almost wiped out the entire population in a northern national park.

Mange is still in the state's wombat populations but 90 per cent of the animals appear healthy, ongoing monitoring shows.

The disease, caused by parasitic mites, does not appear to be causing wombat numbers to decline, the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment says.

"Additionally, we haven't seen high prevalence of mange in populations, which has been linked with the population decline that has been observed at and around Narawntapu National Park," wildlife biologist Dr Rosemary Gales said today.

An outbreak of the disease that hit the national park in 2010 has been slowly wiping out the wombat population.

Some wombats remain in Narawntapu, although fewer than 10 were seen during a recent one-night survey, Gales said.

Hundreds of wombats have been seen in one night at other monitoring sites, with little evidence of the disease.

Gales said although wombats in Tasmania's north east had mange, its prevalence was relatively low and there was no evidence it was causing a population decline.

University of Tasmania wildlife ecologist Scott Carver said wombats were not becoming extinct because of mange but outbreaks could contribute to declining numbers in areas such as Narawntapu.

Gales said current treatments for mange had not been effective at reducing its impact on numbers in the park and the organisations were looking at other options that might help the wombat population recover.

- AAP