Short Beaked Echidna

Tachyglossus aculeatus

Echidna Puggle The Short Beaked Echidna is well built ball of muscle and very strong. It has a long snout and its body is covered with spines that helps protect from predators. It also has sharp claws so it can dig into the ground to make itself a hollow. Its usually active at night time but can sometimes be seen on dull wintery days in the bush. They are very rarely seen and lead a secretive and solitary life in the wild. When it get scared or startled they dig into the ground and curl up into a spiny ball with its back to the entrance of their hollow. They claw into termite mounds and pull out termites with their long sticky tongue. Echidnas are pretty common around Australia and live in woodland areas and grasslands and arid environments. It is the only monotrome in Western Australia, which means that its an egg laying mammal and suckles it young. The only other Monotrome that does this is the Platypus in the East of Australia. Young Echidnas are called Puggles and when they are born they have no spines at all, looking like a small mole-like animal. Echidnas can grow up 45 cms long and can weigh from 2 kilos up to 7 kilos. Echidnas only have a few natural enemies but can be killed by introduced animals like dogs and man-made things like cars or hunting. The Short Beaked Echidna is an iconic Australian animal and can be seen on the five cent coin. It also has a lot of folklore and myths about it within the indigenous communities across Australia, including the East Kimberley Region. Status: Common Food: Ants & termites Location: Widespread across all of Australia.