Echidna visitor

Much excitement on Friday when an echidna came around the corner. (I was hanging out the washing and watching a skink sunning itself, of trying to survive a very hot day.)   Skink, took off, fast. It went past me and echidna came on right by the back door. She got stopped under a copper pipe which is an inch off the ground; went back and under a heavy bag of recycling. I lifted that up and it turned around and went back onto the western verandah and under some old solar hot water panels that lean against that wall. There it stayed and proceeded to burrow down. A few hours later it had shoveled dirt over itself, eventually disappearing with dirt right over it! Stayed all day Saturday while we were at the fair and it was still there Sunday morning. But the dirt was off it then.

The echidna has left us. It was not here when we returned on Sunday night. I just checked it again, and it might have made a tunnel!

I have been looking on the web for information and I suspect that the main reason for being visited was that it was such a hot day (Thursday). They do not like the heat and will burrow or find caves etc to escape it.

They mate in winter, lay an egg about 22 days later, incubate for 10 days. When about 7 weeks old they start to grow spines. Then they are put in a nursery burrow. Mother returns every 5-10 days to feed it. At 7 months they are weaned and left on their own.

So if it is a nursery burrow, she should come back every few days.
They have a huge range as well. Goannas and cats and dogs are the main puggle enemies. 

So we might be in for a very interesting few months, or maybe it was just a one off!


http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/June2000/default.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/schoolstv/animals/ECHIDNAS.htm
http://www.fourthcrossingwildlife.com/echidna_puggle.htm