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Echidna ( Tachyglossus aculeatus)

Together with the platypus, echidnas are the world's only monotremes, or egg-laying mammals. There are two species of echidnas, one confined to the highlands of New Guinea, and one which lives in Australia and New Guinea. All echidnas have sharp spines covering the back of their short, stocky bodies.

In The Wild

Although echidnas are not always readily glimpsed in the wild due to their quiet nature and ability to blend into the bush scenery, they can be identified by their droppings, as well as the markings left after foraging for food.

For most of the year the short-beaked echidna is a solitary animal, although each animal’s territory is large and often overlaps with that of other echidnas. In temperate climates, echidnas are most often seen during early morning and in the late afternoon, as they tend to avoid temperature extremes. Similarly, in arid regions echidnas may forage during the night, and in the hotter part of the day shelter in rock crevices or caves.
Don’t attempt to pick an echidna up as you may injure it. Never put an echidna into the back of your car or on your car seat, as its ability to hold on and to burrow may tear or damage mats or upholstery.

In Captivity

Echidna can be viewed at close range in most azoos and wildlife parks around Australia, particularly those with a focus on Australian native fauna.



Geographic Range
There are two species of echidna - one confined to the highlands of New Guinea and one smaller species, the short-beaked echidna, found in New Guinea and throughout Australia.

Description
Echidnas are easily recognised by their coverage of spines. Although not as conspicuous, hair is present between the spines of the short-beaked echidna. Echidnas range in colour from light brown in the northern, hotter parts of Australia to black in regions of Australia.
The snout is 7– 8 cm long and is rigid in order to enable the animal to break up logs and termite mounds when searching for food. An echidna’s mouth is on the underside of the front of the snout. This allows the animal to feed easily, especially when suckling. The short, stout limbs of echidnas are well suited for scratching and digging the soil.

Habitat
Echidna can be found across Australia, their habitat includes forests, woodlands, shrublands and grasslands, rocky outcrops and agricultural lands. Echidnas are usually found among rocks, in hollow logs, under vegetation or piles of debris, under tree roots or sometimes in wombat or rabbit burrows.

Behaviour
During rainy or windyweather they often burrow into the soil or shelter under tussocks of grass or under bushes. Along with the platypus, the echidna is the only Australian mammal to lay eggs. This makes them one of the last surviving representatives of the monotremes, one of the major subdivisions of mammals; the other subdivisions are marsupials and placental mammals.

Food Habits
Termites and ants are its preferred food and this is why the animal is often called the ‘spiny anteater’. However, earthworms, beetles and moth larvae are also part of the echidna’s diet.
An echidna will use its fine sense of smell to find food and has a beak which is highly sensitive to electrical stimuli. It tracks down its prey and catches it with its long, sticky tongue. Echidnas do not have teeth and they grind their food between the tongue and the bottom of the mouth.

Conservation Status
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Echidna fact sheet
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