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Wait for it! Echidna emerges from the undergrowth
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.
Echidna convinced I’m gone after just a couple of seconds
Walking early one morning at Manly Dam near Sydney, Australia, I came across this Echidna. They are cute, adorable animals that don’t seem to have a care in the world. Whenever I come across one, it quickly buries its nose in a bush (hiding!) But if I wait just a few seconds, the animal is convinced that I’m gone. It comes out of hiding and continues its casual amble.
Echidnas are mammals, about the size of a fat cat. They look like a cross between an anteater, a porcupine, and a small bear. Echidnas and platypuses are the only mammals that lay eggs.
This is a short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), which is the only living type of echidna found in Australia. There are three other types, which live in New Guinea.
They have long, very tough noses that they stick into the ground in search of ants and termites. If you look carefully at the start of the video, you can see the animal’s eye and the rather strange-looking nose.
Here’s a still picture, taken from the video:
Echidna at Manly North Head
Echidnas are not birds, but I decided to blog about this one anyway because it’s such a cute animal. An Echidna is a mammal, about the size of a fat cat. It has a long, very tough nose that it sticks into the ground in search of ants and termites.
This is a short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), which is the only living type of echidna found in Australia. There are three other types, which have longer snouts and live in New Guinea.
Echidnas and platypuses are the only mammals that lay eggs. Echidnas look like a cross between an anteater, a porcupine, and a bear. I saw this one at North Head in Manly, near Sydney. As you can hear on the video, the animal attracted a few interested people. It was entirely unfazed by its audience.
The echidna pottered about on the border between the bush and the walking track. We humans kept our distance from each other, due to the social distancing rules currently in place, and we kept our distance from the echidna out of respect for its wildness. It was a pleasure to see this creature going about its everyday life while we’re entangled in a situation of unprecedented weirdness.
Sydney Birder 