Tachyglossus aculeatus
4 Short-beaked Echidna at Hackett, ACT
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| Tachyglossus aculeatus | MichaelMulvaney | 21 Jul 2017 | |
| Tachyglossus aculeatus | Qwerty | 21 Jul 2017 |
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User's notes
It appeared to be 2 males following a female. They went down a rabbit burrow.
3 comments
21 Jul 2017
Echidna's mate in winter and trains where males follow the female is the beginning of quite a bizarre mating behaviour. Trains can last for up to 6 weeks, and can have up to ten males following a female though 3 or 4 is the usual number. While males occasionally nudge the female there is not much action until the female is ready to mate. The males then dig a trench next to her and push each other to be the one to occupy this nuptial bed.
21 Jul 2017
Very very cool. I have seen a similar "train" of them in winter at Mount Majura once as well.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.174595-35.237873
- Places Hackett, ACT
Sighting information
- 3 Abundance
- 18 Jul 2017 12:00 AM Recorded on
- Qwerty Recorded by
- Breeding behaviour Breeding behaviour
Collections
Species information
- Tachyglossus aculeatus Scientific name
- Short-beaked Echidna Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1888.33m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location