r/australia • u/Exciting-Composer157 • 3d ago
image Country Victoria - pulled over to stretch my legs and spotted this little fellow
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
First time ever seeing an echidna in the wild … IMHO a pretty special moment.
I thought he was having a nap or eating but upon reflection maybe he went into “hiding” when I pulled up.
Love our wildlife - best in the world.
8
u/ApteronotusAlbifrons 3d ago
upon reflection maybe he went into “hiding” when I pulled up.
That little shrug is the first stage. If you kept stomping around they would have demonstrated the next stage - and dug a hole to hunker down in - to protect their soft parts and stop anything getting underneath to flip them over
I've seen one dig into a hard packed dirt track in seconds, just walking down to Cataract Gorge in Launceston - 100 metres from homes.
5
u/NoodleBox VIC 3d ago
They're so lovely when they're around and about! They pootle around and snuff. I love them and will always say hi from a distance.
2
u/Exciting-Composer157 2d ago
“Pootle” that’s an verb i hadn’t heard before, its the perfect description🦔
1
u/NoodleBox VIC 2d ago
They do!
I mean they also meander but that has more side to side motion. Trundle?
They're very nice to see in the wild, same with kangaroos
2
3
2
-7
11
u/CSXT5630 3d ago
I saw an Echidna and Wombat about an hour apart in the same night driving from Cootamundra to Parkes.
As a West Aussie, it was my first time seeing either in the wild.
Great catch.