It’s a foggy morning on the island of Tasmania when Richard Waldron and Shannon Lee are traveling by car.
The two work at a ski club in Ben Lomond National Park. They often have the opportunity to observe Tasmania’s impressive wildlife up close.
Today, however, a very special encounter awaits them.
Scurrying animals on the road
Out of nowhere, a group of scurrying animals suddenly appears out of the fog and crosses the road just a few meters in front of them.
„We knew it was a very special moment and were just so happy that we were able to capture it on video,“
the pair later report.
Shy loners
The animals are echidnas. They are considered extremely shy. You can live in Tasmania for years without seeing one of these animals.
If an echidna does show itself, it is almost always alone. Only during the mating season do the animals form mating groups.
To be able to film such a group from a distance of a few meters is a small sensation.
It was only when Richard Waldron and Shannon Lee posted their video on TikTok that the comments made them realize how unique their encounter really was.
What kind of animals are echidnas?
Despite their name and appearance, echidnas are not closely related to hedgehogs.
They are a rare egg-laying mammal of which there are only five species.
If you are thinking of the much better known platypus, you are right.
Platypuses and echidnas are the only animal families that lay eggs and suckle offspring at the same time.
Like hedgehogs, the body of the echidna is covered with spines. Their biological niche is also similar.
With their long, pointed snout, echidnas mainly consume ants, termites and earthworms. Biologists refer to this as convergent evolution.
This means that animals that occupy a similar ecological niche develop in a similar way, even if they are not closely related.
You can see the echidnas crossing the road on the TikTok channel
Source: The Dodo
