So the echidna I mentioned in my last post (what do you mean you haven't seen the last post?! Scroll back, baby) didn't show it's face. Which is a shame, because I love echidna faces. They are ridiculously adorable, and usually have ants running all over their snout, which for some reason, just makes me love them more.
But it did sun bask. We hung around long enough that it completely relaxed and chucked it's legs out behind it, soaking up the sun. I've been reliably informed that 'splooting' is the correct terminology, for dogs at least. Hmmm, perhaps it's an e-sploot when an echidna does it? (brought to you by the creator of the kookabubba 😉) Not only did it e-sploot, but I also noticed (only once I got home of course!) that I could also see its tarsal spur.
Yes, a spur! So, that means it's a male as only boys have that (and the four-headed penis. Don't just trust me, google it). The spur is on the hind legs and you can just see it in the photos. It's much lighter than the massively long claws. Fellow monotreme, the platypus has a spur too but theirs has venom. It's thought that the echidna's may have had venom back in the day but it's evolved to just have a waxy substance at the base which researchers think is used for communication during breeding.
So there you go, no echidna face but maybe something you haven't seen before (because it was definitely something I haven't seen.)
Echidna
Darkes Forest
