Information by Lauren from Year 5B at Rochedale State School.

HABITATEchidnas are monotremes, egg laying mammals. Echidnas live in all areas of Australia from the Simpson Desert to the Snowy Mountains. The only area they would not be found in would be a tropical rainforest. This is because ants are not found there. They do not make their own nest or shelter and prefer to sleep in hollow logs and areas where there are fallen trees. In very hot weather, they may shelter from the heat in rabbit or wombat burrows.

FEEDINGThe echidna feeds between dusk and dawn on their staple diet of ants and termites. They roam areas smelling out ants with their snouts. They nuzzle their snout into the ant mounds and then the ants appear. They flick out their sticky tongues and get the ants to eat. The echidna eats a lot of dirt which helps to break down and crush the ants as they have no teeth to chew with. Echidnas gorge on large meals and then do not eat for many days. The termites are often found in hollow logs where the echidna likes to shelter. They will also eats earth worms, beetles and the lava of moths, but to a much lesser amount than ants and termites.

CHARACTERISTICSThe echidna is a warm blooded mammal with a small mouth and is covered in creamy brown spines. The head and the body are approximately 37 to 50cm long and the tail is 8 to 9cm. When their tongue is fully extended to get food, it measures 15 to 18cm. In all the average weight of an echidna is 7kg. At the end of their hind foot, they have a long claw which they use for scratching down in between the spines. Echidnas that live in the cooler areas have hair on their bodies as long as their spines. This is to keep them warm. These echidnas hibernate in the winter whereas the ones found in hot, dry areas have short hair in amongst the spines and sleep during the hot days to shelter from extreme temperatures.

INFORMATION AND INTERESTING HABITSThe life span of the echidna is normally three times longer than a cat or a dog. They do not have litters of babies and only produce one young per year by laying a single egg. The mating season is approximately June to September and this the only time they are together. Echidnas usually live alone. They do not have teats for the young to suck on but produce milk through their pores. The echidna is like a marsupial and has a pouch although it only there during breeding. The mother ejects the baby once she begins to feel the spines of her young. The pouch then disappears until the next time she breeds. Echidnas are not an endangered species but like all animals in the wild, they can become prey to other animals, such as dingoes, feral cats and goannas. It is also known as the spiny ant eater.

Click here for some questions about the Echidna.

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