Adventure Ausrama Blog

The echidna is on the list of Australiana. A particular native mammal is everywhere in Australia. It is the great adapter. The ubiquitous echidna is its name. The Short-beaked Echidna, Tachiglossus aculeatus, is even found in the Australian Alps.  Like the anteater its has a long nose, but that is where the similarity ends. They both eat ants. The echidna has no teeth. In some ways it is like a hedgehog, using spines for defence. They have developed a way of safe mating. The male digs a trench. The female get in as does the male. The male carefully lifts the female's tail and while lying on his side pushes his tail underneath her. No harm is done by the spines. Offspring feed by licking up milk that oozes from the mother's milk patches. They do not have nipples. Babies are born without spines. The mother pushes them away when the spines begin to grow at seven weeks. She feeds on ants and continues to return every five days to feed the young. ◆ Aust

Many animals have not been seen for a long time. Indeed, it is not known whether they have become extinct. Some, of course, live in places not usually visited by humans. Recently a beaked whale was washed up on a beach Australia. It is rare and lives deep in the sea. The actual species cannot be verified by manual examination of the body, Part of the body will be sent to the Australian Science Museum in Sydney for DNA tests and X-ray scans to determine the correct species. Not much is known about beaked whales because they live so far down in the sea. Only stranded and beached specimens have been found. They do come to the surface to breath but do not linger there for very long. Many scientists have never seen a live beaked whale. A beaching of this kind is very rare indeed. Parts of the body will be thoroughly examined to shed more light on how the mammal lives.  We will never know everything about fellow animals.  The more we know the better. ✴ Science by T