Short-beaked Echidna

Short-beaked Echidna Photographer - Gary Lewis Source - Gary Lewis Photography Pty. Ltd

Tachyglossus aculeatus

Adult echidnas capture ants and termites with a long sticky tongue and use their strong front claws to break into termite and ant nests.

They have no teeth and grind their food on horny plates in the mouth.

They are often seen in the breeding season in late spring, when they may form 'trains' as several males follow end to end after a female.

The female has a shallow pouch into which a single sticky egg is laid. Milk glands under the skin nourish the single young once hatched. It stays in the pouch when first born, but as it grows and develops spines, the mother leaves the young echidna in a den scraped out under rocks or a stump when she is feeding.

While it is capable of protecting themselves effectively against predators, echidnas like other animals rely on the existence of suitable habitat for their survival.