I love to see echidnas almost daily in the yard, and that they are starting to ignore me when I walk past a few feet away.
But sometimes I curse their night’s work. The earth bank is an easy target for them to poke their snouts into, but I slip on the stones they dislodge onto my brick steps! They are effectively burying them.
But I don’t curse for long — unless I do actually slip. They are far too interesting and far too cute. I get to see them from all aspects except underneath, but they are never still for long. They do a surprisingly swift waddle!
Their faces I can catch by sitting still as they approach.
But I was fascinated to see this close-up of an echidna’s rear. It’s not one of my resident echidnas: this great shot was taken by web visitor Darian Zam — thanks, Darian!
The tail always looks like a strange extension, rather like an emu’s, I have thought. Or an overly-gelled ducktail hairstyle. I’d imagined the symmetrical spiky end whorls would overhang the actual anus, but this shows otherwise.