Vinnie the wombat exhausted after latest escape bid

A slightly thinner, dehydrated and completely exhausted wombat climbed back into bed with his blanket yesterday after a hard 12 days exploring the wilderness.

Coolgardie's 20-month-old Hopbush resident Vinnie was reunited with his carer yesterday after the runaway was spotted "flopped on his tummy" on the side of the road by Shire workers.

This was not the first time the sneaky marsupial had escaped from his sanctuary at the Goldfields wildlife rehabilitator's facility, but it was the longest he had spent fending for himself since he was five months old.

Carer Rowena Walker admitted her hopes were beginning to fade before she received the call from Ric Campbell and Craig Swan saying Vinnie was in their truck, trying to eat their lunch.

"I am so over the moon that the darling boy is back … it was all just quite incredible, really," Ms Walker said.

"It was really lucky that he happened to be on the side of the road where they were working, and that they had heard a wombat was missing … otherwise they easily could have kept driving. We won't treat him like a wombat for a few days and put him back in his pen, he can be a baby again for a bit."

Vinnie was found 18km away from his home in the direction of Burra Rock.

Throughout his travels he lost a few kilos, with his spine and back plates now clearly visible, but sustained no other injuries.

His rescuers were thanked with a $500 reward, but chose to donate the money back to the facility, which Ms Walker said would be used to purchase a tracking device for the wombat.