BIG SPIKE IN ECHIDNAS
A MASSIVE spring influx of echidnas to the Surf Coast has prompted an animal-rescue service to warn people to leave the shy creatures alone.
Surf Coast Animal Rescue Service vice president Jason Cichocki advised those lucky enough to see the unique animals to provide protection for them, but not to move them or try to dig them out of the holes they hide in.
“It’s definitely the time of year we tend to see a lot more, in the boundaries of Torquay especially,” Mr Cichocki said.
“The best thing to do is actually leave them alone, and provide protection for them, so what that means is if there is an individual wandering across the road, you can just stop the traffic and let him wander across the road like you would do for a family of ducks.”
“What females do is they leave their babies in a den, they then wander off and go on their way looking for food, and then as they’re doing that they leave a smell trail which they follow back to the den. So, if we move that particular echidna too far from the smell trail then she cannot find her den, and therefore the babies could potentially die.
“We’ve also had incidents where concerned members of the public have tried to dig them out with a shovel, and they’ve actually had their noses cut off… or a leg even.”
Mr Cichocki said, while it’s best to keep pets away from echidnas, dogs typically learned their lesson when investigating the spiky visitors.
“A lot of people are worried about their pets, like their dogs attacking them, but we very rarely see an echidna that has been injured by an attack from a dog,” he said. “What usually will happen is the dog will attempt to go near it, the echidna will go into a ball and the dog will get a spike on the face and usually stay away.”
Anybody who comes across an echidna that may be injured can call the Surf Coast Animal Rescue Service on 0422 048 557.