This is an echidna.
They have very spikey hairs.
Which you would think would make them hard to pet.
Or to cuddle without poking your eye out.
But that didn’t stop us.
Their faces and furry undersides are protected by their spikes.
They can poke just their nose and tongue out to slurp their food.
Which in the wild is ants and insects but in the zoo is blended raw meat and egg.
They have very long tongues for slurping ants out of their holes, which really tickle your fingers when they eat out of your hands.
These are actually the short nosed echidnas. There are other echidnas with even longer noses.
They were very curious about the camera.
Maybe a bit too curious.
But they were so very cute.
