Ever Heard of the ECHIDNA? That Interesting Mammal That Lays Eggs!

Echidnas are medium-sized, solitary mammals covered with coarse hair and spines, and are also known as spiny anteaters. Though mammals, they are different from other mammals in that they lay eggs! Animals with this unique feature are called monotremes. Together with the duckbill platypus, they are the only living mammals that lay eggs and belong to the animal order Monotremata.  

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Echidnas have spines like porcupines, a beak like a bird, a pouch like a kangaroo, and lays eggs like reptiles. There are generally two genera of echidnas – the short-beaked echidna of the  genus Tachyglossus, and the long-beaked echidna of the genus Zaglossus of which there are three species.

Short-beaked echidnas are smaller and have longer hair than long-beaked echidnas. Long-beaked echidnas, native to New Guinea include one species named after English broadcaster and naturalist, Sir David Attenborough (Z. attenborough).

Reproduction in Echidnas

Upon mating, the female lays a single soft-shelled egg 22 days after mating, and deposits it directly into her pouch (similar to that of a kangaroo).

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Ten days later, hatching takes place, and the baby echidna opens the shell with a reptile-like tooth. Thereupon, they begin to suck milk from their mother’s pores because monotremes like echidnas have no nipples.

The baby echidna, also known as a puggle, remains in the pouch for another 45 to 55 days at which time it starts to develop spines. The mother then digs a nursery burrow and deposits the young there, returning every three to five days to suckle it until it is weaned at seven months.

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Echidnas can be found in Australia, Tasmania, and on the Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea. They feed on ants, termites, worms and insect larvae.  When faced with danger, they attempt to bury themselves; and when exposed, they will curl into a ball. Both methods allow them use their spines to shield them.

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They generally live up to 50 years in captivity, with some reports of wild animals reaching 45 years. 

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