First Study of Elusive Long-Beaked Echidna

07/17/2009

Biologist Muse Opiang holds a long-beaked echidna in Papua New Guinea/
Credit Wildlife Conservation Society-PNG

The long-beaked echidna, also known as the spiny anteater, lives in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and has been the least studied of the three living monotremes, a primitive Order of mammals that includes Australia’s more famous duck-billed platypus and short-beaked echidna. Egg laying mammals? Let’s face it, monotremes are some of the world’s coolest animals. Yet the biology and habits of the critically endangered long-beaked echidna remained relatively unknown, until now. Although locals hunt the echidnas as bushmeat, no scientist had studied them.

These echidnas live deep in the tropical rainforest in some of the world’s most treacherous terrain. Everyone thought studying the rare creature would be nearly impossible. That sounded like a challenge to Muse Opiang, a PNG native who started out as a Wildlife Conservation Society-PNG intern. He spent over 6,000 hours in the field studying the echidnas over a period of four years. Opiang is one dedicated scientist. After earning his master’s degree in the U.S. from University of Saint Louis, he co-founded Papua New Guinea Institute of Biological Research, and is hard at work earning his doctorate from the University if Tasmania. He published his findings recently in the Journal of Mammalogy.

It took Opiang months before he caught his first echidna. He discovered he could find the animals by following trails they make when their noses poke in the ground while searching for food. He eventually found and attached radio transmitters to 9 adults and 3 juveniles so he could learn about their feeding habits and movement patterns. At first, Opiang tried attaching them to the echidna’s spines but the animals would lose them as they dug and burrowed, so then he tried the ankle, which worked better.

Long-beaked echidnas use their long beak to poke around for grubs, worms, and other invertebrates. The eggs hatch into hairless, undeveloped “puggles” that live in a pouch for 40-50 days, suckling milk from mammary skin patches that secrete milk. They wean at around seven months.

I have to say, though, one of the strangest looking things I’ve ever seen is this echidna’s feet. The feet look almost human with toe pads or something. Maybe it’s just the photo angle, I don’t know, but check out the photo in the New York Times article, Brainy Echidna Proves Looks Aren’t Everything. And speaking of that title, I don’t know who the author’s talking about, I think the critters look adorable. What do you think?