E for

E for Echidna  or Spiney Ant Eater   

Of the 378 species of mammals in Australia, more than 80 per cent are unique to Australia.

 How amazing is that!!!

This little fella is one of two of our native fauna that will just blow your mind and is one of my favourite animals.

Echidnas are covered in hard spines and hair, are solitary and eat mostly ants and termites. They are considered unique even to us Aussies, so much so that we stamped an image of one into our 5 cent coin.

They are so shy that most Aussies have never seen one in the wild, let alone in a zoo. You don’t often see them during the day as they prefer the cloak of darkness to bright sunshine but they are reasonably plentiful if you know where to look for them.

Echidnas are  monotremes, this means that they lay eggs AND suckle their young.  And they suckle their young in a pouch. Lucky for mum the baby Echidna doesn't grow his/her spines until they are about 6 - 8 weeks old otherwise it would make for an uncomfortable gestation.

 It gets weirder; the male has a four headed penis. While mating, the heads on one side ‘shut down’ (not sure what this means but I’m intrigued) and do not grow in size, the other two are used to release semen into the female’s two branched reproductive tract. The used heads are swapped each time the mammal copulates. Now, I don’t know about you but I’ll be checking out the internet looking for a photo of that one!! Every time I think about this it reminds me of a 'lock and load' cordless screwdriver with inbuilt screw heads.  (double entendre intended) 

The egg is laid about 22 days later and the female puts the egg into her pouch.  The egg hatches in the pouch about 10 days later, the young echidna (called a puggle) then licks milk from the pores of two milk patches  (Echidna’s don’t have nipples).  The baby remains in his mother’s pouch for 45 – 55 days then because he starts to develop spines she digs a burrow deposits the baby inside, leaves for a hard day's foraging then returns to feed bub.

Echidnas live in burrows and can burrow into the ground faster than I can type this sentence.  They will also curl into a ball using their spines for protection if they are threatened.

They are not pet material as their diet is too specialised and if you find a young orphan it's a real struggle to help them survive without their mother.

We have come accross the odd Echidna on bushwalks and (concerningly) on the side of the road.  They are the most gentle little creature and if you are just as gentle it is possible to pick one up for a closer look. (Although I dont reccommend it) We have rescued quite a few from death by speeding vehicle by picking up the little spikey bundle and depositing it back in the bush. The speed with which they can bury themselves is facinating to watch as is the cute little waddle as they purposefully rush off after being rescued.

White (not albino) Echidna photo courtesy of M Smith