Echidnas are egg-laying mammals found in Australia. Along with platypuses, they’re the only mammals that lay eggs. They look like a cross between a porcupine (long quills) and an anteater (long nose). At approximately 50 centimetres long, an echidna is about the size of an anteater too.

Occasionally, I’m lucky enough to come across an echidna when I’m out walking in the bush near Sydney. The most recent one was just a few days ago, in Manly Dam conservation area.

This video shows the echidna pushing its way out of the undergrowth. I heard it rustling in the long tufts of grass, and got my camera ready. The little creature waved its nose in the air to check for danger, then decided it was safe to cross the patch of bare ground in front of me.