October 14, 2008: Echidna Puggle
 

Wiki says;http://cellar.org/2008/echidna.jpg

Weird, unique, ugly, it's got it all. :haha:

full grown echidnas are pretty cute, but that baby . . .

For a recipe, see Eraserhead.

It reminds me of this.

Not ugly, no.
Vulnerable.
Gorgeous.

Oh, you meant the puggle :)
Yeah I did too.

How old is it at the cartoonish stage Bruce?

I was trying to figure out if that baby is a platypus or and echidna because it looks more like a platypus to me because of the 'beak' or snout. In my travels, I found the site below which I thought was interesting, and just goes to show that you can never trust wiki. ;)

From here:

If I had something spiny growing in my pouch, I'd dig a hole and dump it in there, too.

Nothing to see here folks, move along.

All the photos are of an Echidna not a Platypus. A baby Echidna is called a Puggle. ;)

For some reason, every time I look at the picture in the top right, it reminds me of a cornish game hen.

I don't know if it's my monitor or my eyes playing tricks on me, but does the puggle have eyes and/or eyelids? It seems like there are just dark spots where the eyes should be...

One of nature's perfect animals. It comes with lots of built-in toothpicks, which is convenient because barbecued echidna is so stringy!

Obviously a contentious issue then huh. :)

Only for people that think that's not an Echidna. :rolleyes:

http://www.faunarescue.org.au/echidna.html

That's not an echidna ...... This is an echidna.

Thanks for the set up, Bruce!



From Bruce's link:

It does have everything!! Even a nice digital SLR Camera. :neutral:

That's not a puggle, that's a mutant chicken.

Looks more like an eKidney.

:lol2:

Seriously!

That's not mutant chicken... this is mutant chicken. :haha:

Mike the headless chicken ( I LOVE Mike the headless chicken!)

http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/story.html

Wasn't trying to be a dick. Just clearing things up.

No worries matey. I didn't think you were, and I wouldn't know if you were right or wrong anyway. I was just pointing out that some websites suggest otherwise...and I wasn't even looking for that. I just thought that little baby looked more like a platy than an echidna, so I was trying to find out what it was. ;) It's amazing what you learn by accident.

If anyone is still following:
Is the handler's skin problem from the echidna or is it likely to go the other way and cause trouble for the little critter?
I have always been amazed that echidnas have been successfully raised in captivity and so quite well studied as these pics show, but
the last time I looked into platypus stats, there have only been one or two successful breedings! Ever!

...freckles.

I think its freckles...

Yes...someone seems to have a problem with freckles.

Personally, I think they're pretty cute. :)

Im dont get tan in the summer until all my freckles meet. I dont thinks its cute...:P

Well, I understand that being the owner of a good number of freckles can be a chore, but honestly, people like me think you look nice. :)

Platypus Babies
 

The picture on the right is a dolphin!

Platypii are so cuuuuuuuuute!! :D I've got like three stuffed animals that are platypuseses, such an odd animal to choose for a child's toy really. :D

Did you know that the platypus is the only mammal to produce venom?
The males have a spur on the inside of the hind leg which they use when fighting each other. The venom doesn't cause actual damage, but directly causes pain nerves to fire. To humans, it is non-fatal but extremely painful, and the effects gradually fade ... over two to three weeks.

And they can detect underwater electric fields using special sense organs in their snouts.

We used to kill them for their skins but they are now protected and are doing reasonably ok, at least by Australia's bad standards for mammal extinction.

Yep, I did know that.
I think they're really wierd, freakin cool things. Though I'd never want to mess with one in real life, I'm happy to stick with my plushies. :D

(I read a lot)