Where to see the long-beaked echidna They are found in Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya in Australasia. They can be seen in Lorantz National Park or the Arfak Mountains, the Tamrau Selatan, Salawati Utara nature reserves. Treats The Echidna is threatend because of traditional hunting for food and the destruction of its habitat due to farming, logging and mining. Attenborough´s long beaked echidna which was presumed extinct was rediscovered in the Cyclops Mountains in June 2007!!!!! Ancient line It belongs to the ancient egg laying group of mammals called monotrems and have hardly changed in the past 100 million years. They have a long downcurved snout which is nearly two thirds of its head. It has no teeth but it hooks its prey on its spiky tongue and reels it in. Pouched eggs They are nocternal and during the day time stay in burrows or hollow logs. They eat earthworms, ants and termites. They are also called SPINY ANTEATERS. They are solitary and come together only to breed. Each female lays 4-6 eggs which hatch after 10 days. The young stay in the pouch for 6-7 weeks and feed on milk from milk patches inside the pouch. The young leave the pouch when their spines devolop. When threatened they erect their spines and burrow their belly into soft ground. On hard ground they curl into a spiky ball like a hedgehog. |   |
