Have your cake and eat it too on Wombat Day, Sunday October 22

Sunday might be one of your best chances to sneak a peek at the city's favourite, but rather elusive, wombat.

Dozer, the 17-year-old bare-nosed wombat, will be the star of the day on October 22, which is known as Wombat Day.

To celebrate the day the Botanic Gardens zoo crew are throwing a special community celebration on Sunday morning (before Dozer dozes off for his daily nap).

The free celebration will include wombat-themed short talks shared by Wagga Wagga wombat enthusiast James Mercer-King.

Wombat Day is also traditionally marked with cake, usually baked in the shape of the Australian marsupial.

"A celebration wouldn't be complete without cake, and we are fortunate enough to have a local culinary wizard offered to bake a 3D wombat shaped cake for the day," Supervisor Horticulture Henry Pavitt said.

"The Wagga Wagga community is invited to Dozer's pen to celebrate with a slice of cake and learn more about the iconic Australian wombat."

Wombat Day turns a spotlight on the often forgotten, or misunderstood marsupial.

“Wombats are often seen as being silly or slow, but they are very misunderstood in their body language and how they move about the environment,” Mr Mercer-King said.

“Their sense of smell and hearing is very, very heightened … and they can move very quickly - they are faster than Usain Bolt and can get up to over 40km/h over short distances in order to get away from predators.”

The free Wombat Day celebrations will run from 9.30am to 10.30am.

“While the day is for Dozer, there is also plenty of free activities for the whole family to see and do at the Botanic Gardens, from wandering through the rest of the zoo to exploring the many different garden areas or playing on the adventure playground,” Mr Pavitt said.