Short-beaked Echidna: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Australia · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. Echidnas are very strong. One shifted a 13.5 kg stone, and a scientist said his captive echidna pushed a fridge around a room.
2. An echidna's tongue can reach 180 mm out of its snout and has been measured flicking in and out about 100 times a minute.
3. Echidnas eat fast: a 3 kg echidna can swallow 200 g of termites in only ten minutes.
4. When diving underwater or hiding from a bushfire, an echidna's heart can slow to about 12 beats a minute, a fifth of its resting rate.
5. A baby echidna is only about as big as a grape. Each female lays just one egg a year.

The quiz

1. What heavy object did a captive echidna move around a room?

• A sofa
• A refrigerator (correct)
• A piano
• A bicycle

A scientist reported that a captive echidna pushed a fridge around a room in his home.

2. About how many times per minute has an echidna's tongue been measured flicking in and out?

• About 5
• About 20
• About 500
• About 100 (correct)

Its tongue has been measured moving in and out about 100 times a minute.

3. How many termites can a 3 kg echidna gulp in ten minutes?

• 20 g
• 2 kg
• 200 g (correct)
• 50 g

A 3 kg echidna can gulp 200 g of termites in just ten minutes.

4. How low can an echidna's heart rate drop when it dives underwater?

• About 12 beats per minute (correct)
• About 60 beats per minute
• About 120 beats per minute
• It stops completely

Its heart rate can drop to about 12 beats per minute.

5. How many eggs do female echidnas lay each year?

• Three
• One (correct)
• Ten
• Two dozen

Female echidnas lay one egg a year.

Same week

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