The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is one of four living species of echidna. It is covered in fur and spines, has a distinctive snout to help detect its surroundings, and uses a specialized tongue to catch insects. Its extremely strong front limbs and claws allow it to burrow quickly. It repels predators by curling into a ball and deters them with its spines. During the Australian winter, it goes into deep torpor and hibernation. As the temperature increases, it emerges to mate. Female echidnas lay one egg a year and the mating period is the only time the solitary animals meet. A newborn echidna grows rapidly on mother's milk and is expelled into the mother's burrow when it grows too large for the pouch. It leaves the burrow when it is around six months old. The species is found throughout Australia and in coastal and highland regions of eastern New Guinea. It is not threatened with extinction, but human activities have reduced its distribution in Australia. This photograph shows a Tasmanian short-beaked echidna (T. a. setosus), a subspecies of the short-beaked echidna, near Scottsdale, Tasmania.Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
I am happily married and have two little ankle biters that are very cute and lots of fun.
I am an Episcopalian, and strongly so. We are at least fourth-generation Episcopalians. But I am by no means an expert on religion, despite being a church-goer for all my life, and even attending (briefly) an Episcopal school. But I do study and am passionately interested in this wonderful and vibrant religion. I help around the church from time to time, and can swing a thurible and can carry a virge.
I am college educated. I have three college degrees relating to international business and international economics. Despite having a high GPA, I can still do some really stupid things.
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