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Show 738 MR. BENNETT ON THE HABITS OF THE ECHIDNA. [June 21, beetles, ants, and a white juicy worm. Many small dead saplings had been knocked down by the Echidnas in their search at the roots for their food. They are particularly partial to the white ants, which erect small mounds of clay about 18 inches in height. These they attack in a most systematic way, by working round the nest, by clearing away the earth and forming a trench where the nest joins the earth, and devouring all before them ; and then they make a hole in the centre and clear out the whole nest, leaving none behind to tell the tale of their visit. The soldier-ant (a large stinging ant) they do not touch; their nests were close to the white-ant mounds, but were untouched. The larger sugar-ants, which raise mounds of sand about 16 inches high and 4 feet in diameter, they attack first, by lying on the mound with their tongue out and drawing in the ants that cross it; there they remain sometimes for hours. This, I have no doubt, is the time that they get the sand found in their stomach. They then make a hole from one side to the other, and devour the most delicate morsels coming in their way. In the daytime they do not move about much, beginning their search about a couple of hours before sundown. They are very quick of hearing ; so that one's movements have to he very cautious and slow, as the least crackle of a leaf anywhere near makes them draw in their snouts and begin at once to burrow their way into the ground, which they do by means of their legs, moving the whole of the body into the burrow and spreading the earth over their backs. The speed with which they do this is almost incredible, very little disturbance of the earth being observable after the animal has disappeared. They do not, as a rule, burrow straight ahead; in only one instance have I known this to happen ; this was the case of an Echidna put into a box, which went down into the ground under the box and got away, coming out under a paling fence at a distance of 10 feet. Their muscular strength is enormous ; as I remarked before, they can fell saplings with a good-sized sound root. I have known them force out wire netting, well fastened with large broad tacks; any thing theyr can once get a purchase against must go before them, if they are attempting to escape ; large stones 30 lb. in weight they move clean out of the way; so that, when they are got, if the dissecting-knife is not used at once the difficulty is to keep them. There is a prevalent idea that Echidnas lie dormant during the winter; but this is not the case, as I began my observations first in June 1878, which is the Australian midwinter, and I found that they were as keen in their search after food then as at any other part of the year. To arrive at their breeding-season has been m y greatest difficulty : I do not think it can be fixed at any certain period, but must in some places begin earlier than in others. In July I got a male specimen which had the testes very much enlarged, fully the size of a hen's egg, being 1| inch in length and 2\ inches in diameter. I continued to collect specimens to August 9th, and transmitted them, through m y father, Dr. George Bennett, F.Z.S., to Professor Owen, who decided that none were actually |
