Wildlife: Wildlife Encounters 3: Monotremes, 0 by kennedyh

kennedyh wrote:
Most of our Australian mammals are marsupials like kangaroos and koalas. There are a few placental mammals, the dingo, some rats and mice and some bats, but less well known are the two unique Australian monotremes. These are the only egg-laying mammals.
When we arrived in Australia in 1973, we lived in Tasmania for 12 years and were very keen to see all the unique wild animals. It was 6 months before we saw our first monotreme. We were driving one day when this hedgehog-like animal crossed the road in front of us. We hurriedly stopped and rushed up the bank to look at it, our first Echidna or Spiny Anteater - Tachyglossus aculeatus. They don't curl up in a ball like hedgehogs. Instead they use their incredibly powerful digging legs to dig in and take a very firm grip of the ground beneath them. It is impossible to dislodge them without harming the animal and all that is presented is its armour of sharp quills. Here is our first echidna, dug in and hanging on tight to the earth. We had disturbed it too much to get any better view of it.