Page 88 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

88 ATLAS OF THE WORLD’S STRANGEST ANIMALS

Comparisons

Prickly ‘hair’ makes great defensive armour and the short-beaked may be smaller than the echidna, but both have similar ways of dealing
echidna is only one of several mammals that has evolved such with unwanted guests.They curl their bodies into a ball, exposing only
specialized spines. Echidna are found throughout Australasia, but they their spines to attackers.
have their counterparts in the Northern Hemisphere too. Hedgehogs

Hedgehog Short-beaked echidna

Short-beaked echidna habitats With their elongated snouts, short legs, rotund bodies
and characteristic spines, these marvellous mammals may
look strange, but they’re designed to thrive and survive in
the harshest of conditions.
Although their spines are their most notable feature,
echidnas also have a coat of short, coarse fur to protect
them from cold.Those subspecies living in Tasmania have
longer, thicker fur than those living in warmers areas.
When the cold really begins to bite, though, they simply
hunker down in their burrow and go to sleep. Echidna can
slow down their metabolisms to save energy, entering a
hibernation-like state when the weather is bad and food is
scarce. It wasn’t until 2007 that this behaviour was
observed by Professor Gordon Grigg, who was then
Zoology Professor at the University of Queensland. He
discovered echidnas hibernating above the snow line of
Australia’s highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which is
2228m (7310ft) above sea level!
Luckily, most echidna don’t need to hibernate because
Australia has an abundance of their favourite foods.
Termites, worms and insect larvae are all eagerly munched
From tropical rainforests to the dry Australian outback, down by hungry echidna, but the species are keen
from meadows to the clogged city suburbs, echidna are formicivores – they particularly love ants. So anywhere
able to make themselves at home almost anywhere.There there are ants, there will probably also be echidnas.
are five subspecies of short-beaked echidna.Australia, New
Guinea,Tasmania and Kangaroo Island all boast their own Amazing monotremes
‘native’ subspecies - each perfectly adapted to suit their There’s more to this species than meets the eye. It may
particular environment. In fact, although New Guinea’s have changed little since the time of the dinosaurs, but
Tachyglossus aculeatus lawesii is struggling to adapt to habitat they’re far from primitive. Echidnas belong to a group of
loss, echidna are coping better than many species with the animals known as monotremes. Unlike most mammals and
stresses and strains of the modern world. marsupials, monotremes lay eggs rather than give birth to

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.