Although echidnas are among the last mammals on Earth to lay eggs, this does not explain why they are
such a marvel.
Echidnas resemble a cross between a hedgehog, a porcupine, and an anteater, yet they are altogether
different animals. Along with the platypus, they are the only surviving representatives of the ancient
group of creatures known as monotremes, or egg-laying mammals, which are only found in Australia,
Tasmania, and New Guinea.
Researchers are always discovering new facts about these odd but endearing tiny creatures, such as the
fact that echidnas sleep through wildfires in order to survive them. The extraordinary ability could
contribute to the explanation of how mammals managed to survive the asteroid that wiped out the
dinosaurs.
What allows echidnas to live?
Echidnas escaped the fire in what way? In Western Australia, where there is a small colony of echidnas,
the researchers took advantage of a controlled fire being undertaken there to conduct their
investigation. Small temperature loggers and GPS trackers were bonded to the spines of the echidnas’
backs after they were captured and implanted.
Before and after the fire, researchers monitored the echidnas for roughly a month. What they
discovered was very amazing. The inherently sluggish creatures made no attempt to escape the fire.
Instead, they simply went to bed and dozed off.
An alternative to hibernation.
Torpor is a form of hibernation that echidnas are known to be capable of, in which they slow down their
metabolism and thus lower their body temperature. How does the adaptation help them survive fire,
though? It enables them to conserve energy in times of scarcity.
Echidnas do not simply go into a coma outside. They choose a secure, concealed, and protected location
to sleep in, such as a cave or a hollowed-out tree log. These natural shelters undoubtedly aid in their fire
protection, but they are not sufficient in and of themselves; a fire can quickly turn one of these burrows
into an oven.
The animals’ reduced body temperature during torpor, according to researchers, shields them from
rising temperatures. In fact, it gives them a slight fire resistance.
Sleeping during difficult circumstances.
Torpor states, however, also allow echidnas to sleep through the periods of scarcity that come after
severe bushfires, so they can save themselves from fires even when their body temperatures aren’t as
frigid as they may be. In other words, although other animals cannot survive a wildfire, echidnas
probably can. Echidnas can conserve energy until their bug food is again by going into torpor. None of
the echidnas in research on them in a controlled-burn region fled their home range after the fire;
instead, they stayed and waited for it to rebuild.
In fact, scientists believe that the ability to enter into states of torpor may have been what allowed
mammals to survive the asteroid hit that killed out the dinosaurs. After all, echidnas are part of an old
family of mammals. Torpor was also thought to be a much more frequent feature in ancient animals
than it is in modern mammals, according to several biologists.
