Echidna is a popular guest in a Greek mythology, as a rule, she was called: the “Mother of All Monsters”. Echidna was depicted as a woman-monster, who lives in a cave, she had a beautiful face and body of a serpent. She was beautiful, but furious and cunning.

It was a legend about Echidna and now let’s find more about a sweet animal.

Appearance

In the world, there are only 2 species of egg-laying animals: platypus and echidnas. Echidnas look like hedgehogs and got a lot of needles. So, body of echidna is from 7 to 8 cm long, covered with sharp spines, sometimes males can weigh up to 6 kilos. Echidnas are perfect diggers, but they dig not for popularity, they dig for food! Mouth of echidnas is rather small and they don’t have any teeth at all. They eat with the help of tongue – it is long, very long.

Place of living

They are very popular in Australia. Echidnas hate, when it is hot, so if you want to meet one – wait for it during the dusk time. Most of the animals are solitary animals and very often they can change their habits and be active at night, instead of day. Echidnas adore living among rocks, in hollows of trees. Moreover, echidnas don’t like rain, so they burrow into the soil or hide under the branches of trees.

Protection

It is not a secret, that each echidna looks horrendous and people, other animals are afraid of it. But, as it turned out, they are very shy animals and will better run away, then start fighting. Also, while smelling a rat, echidnas can curl into a ball, so the only sharp needles will meet the enemy. By the way, among echidna’s enemies, we can name the following: eagles, dingos and even dogs. Male echidnas have special part of the body, which can sprinkle a poison.

Food

Echidnas possess a wonderful, almost ideal sense of smell: they prefer eating termites and other small insects.

Webbed feet enable the platypus to swim well. Each hind foot of the male has a poison spur that can kill small animals and inflict painful wounds on larger ones. Crushing its food with the horny plates of the bill and mouth, the platypus each day eats about half its own weight in worms, insect larvae, mollusks, crustaceans, and vegetation, all consumed underwater.

The male Platypus has venomous ankle spurs which produce a cocktail of venom!!! This venom is not lethal to humans, but does produce excruciating pain; so intense that the victim may be incapacitated. And one mo fact about platypus, which confirm their leading position in the list of strange animals: platypus reproduction is unique. It is one of only two mammals (the echidna is the other) that lay eggs!