A mammal that lays an egg
The female lays one soft egg, the size of a grape, and carries it in her pouch.
The bush
Short-beaked echidna
Tachyglossus aculeatus
A round, brown animal covered in cream spines, with a long thin snout.
- Size
- About 40cm long
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Almost everywhere in Australia, from desert to snow
Waddles after you, poking its snout into things. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Echidna
Good to know
Six things about the echidna
A puggle
A baby echidna is called a puggle. It leaves the pouch when its spines start to grow.
A long sticky tongue
Its tongue is 15 centimetres long and flicks in and out a hundred times a minute to catch ants.
No teeth
It has no teeth. It grinds its food between its tongue and the roof of its mouth.
A snout that senses
The snout can pick up the tiny electric signals given off by moving insects.
Sinking out of sight
In danger it digs straight down until only spines are showing.
The real thing
Photos of the echidna
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Look for one waddling along a track or across a road, or for scrapes where it has dug into an ants' nest.
How to help
If you see an echidna on a road, slow down and let it cross. Never pick one up: it may have a puggle hidden nearby.
Keep going