At 90 days old and weighing 696 grams, the newest edition to the Australia Zoo family is tracking well, with mum Tippy nursing regularly. At this stage, the new baby does not have a name as it’s currently too early to determine whether it’s male or female.
The zookeepers are happy with puggle’s progress as it is consistently gaining weight and growing new hair and spines every day.
Guests to Australia Zoo are able to book an echidna encounter with one of the zoo’s adult echidnas including their new puggle’s dad, Prickle, at http://www.australiazoo.com.au/our-animals/animal-encounters/
Echidna facts:
- Mothers give birth to an egg that then incubates in her pouch (this is a fold of abdominal fat that is developed during the breeding season)
- Egg incubates for 10 days before the puggle hatches
· Puggle stays in the pouch for approx 45-60 days
· At the end of this time, the puggle is starting to develop its spines so the mother deposits it into a nursery burrow and then will visit to nurse it anywhere between every 3- 10 days
- Echidnas are one of two types of montreme, or egg-laying mammals, found in the world, the other being the platypus – both unique to Australia.
