How to tell if your echidnas are ready for e-KID-nas

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-08-16 08:00

Australia; VIC; QLD; WA

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Echidnas change their behaviours when they're expecting babies - called puggles - according to Aussie researchers. The team studied breeding pairs of echidnas, to see how their behaviour changes before and after copulation, and to determine if certain behaviours could be used as a sign that the female may be ready to lay her eggs. They found that the males would engage in more frequent ‘urogenital sniffing’, ‘rolling’ and ‘copulation attempts’ toward the female when copulation has occurred, and females would show increased pacing, reduced feeding time, and reduced food eaten in the lead up to laying eggs. These behavioural changes may help zookeepers to improve the reproductive management of echidnas in captivity.