Tuesday, June 12, 2012

An Echidna deciding if I was scarey

My Piccie of the day is a fellow I "caught" one afternoon a couple of summers ago. 
Echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) are entirely innocuous, very gentle retiring creatures.
Their main diet is termites and ants which they get at by tearing nests apart with those amazing claws.
Their defensive tactics are very passive too. If the ground is soft enough the literally dig in leaving only their spiny back exposed. If they get stuck on hard ground they will either hang on for dear life or roll into a ball.
When I found this fellow he/she dug in and waited for me to go. But I was more patient, I stood quietly and waited until he/she came out. He she rolled around to see if I had left which is when I got this shot.

These guys are quite common and can be found almost everywhere in Oz from the high snow country to hot, hot deserts. They are common but hard to photograph because if they are aware you are around you get a piccie like this an echidna in "go away and leave me alone mode."







6 comments:

Linda G. said...

I think they fall into the "cute but not cuddly" category. ;)

Old Kitty said...

Are they hedgehog related?!?! Awwww they're adorable!! Well done you for getting these pics!! Take care
x

John Going Gently said...

what a delightful little fellow
I want one!

Al said...

Hi Linda,
Definitely cute but not cuddly!

Hi Jennifer,
No they are not even distantly related to hedgehogs.
Hedgehogs like us are placental mammals,
echidnas are monotremes, egg laying mammals like platypus.

Hi John
they are sweet aren't they?

Dawn Simon said...

What a cute little guy--or gal. Your photography is so impressive!

Carolyn V said...

Aw! He is cute. I love the leave me alone mode. ;)