Second day of the Count

The weather has been fine and sunny for the start of the Echidna Count week, windy on the first day.

There have been two sightings of echidnas recorded in the project so far, both in the western side of the valley.

Some interesting facts about echidnas from the leading echidna researcher Dr Peggy Rismiller:

• A female echidna usually becomes sexually mature (ie produces her first young) at five to seven years of age, but may be as old as 12 before reproducing.
• When pregnant, the gestation period is 22 days ± 12hrs.

• The female lays her single egg directly into the pouch. The echidna does not have a pouch until she is pregnant. The pouch is formed from a fold of skin on the belly. It starts to form a couple of days after mating, and develops into a deep pocket .
  You can see photos of the development of an echidna pouch here:
  https://wildlife.org.au/unveiling-the-echidna-pouch/

• A pouch young echidna is called a ‘puggle’. There is a short video of a puggle hatching here: https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/echidna-puggle-hatching-video
• There is no teat for the young to attach to. The puggle uses its front legs to hang onto the hairs in the mother’s pouch.
• The young suckles milk from an area called a ‘milk patch’ on the mother's belly.
• Young remain in the pouch for 45 to 55 days, depending on the size of the mother and are then placed in a nursery burrow.
• Once in a burrow, the female returns only 2hrs every 5 days to suckle the young.
• Young are weaned at about 7 months of age.

Posted on 10 de setembro de 2024, 02:10 PM by katyw