Echidnas are Australian anteaters Like the platypus, the echidna is a monotreme, a mammal which lays eggs and feeds its young with milk Echidna Males are bigger than females Size is from 35 to 53 cm and they weigh from 4½ to kg Echidnas have sharp spines and thick brown fur They have a short stumpy tail They eat ants and termites They have a stiff snout which they use to hunt for food The echidna’s mouth is on the underside of the snout and is useful for sucking up food They have no teeth They use their strong claws to dig and break open termite mounds When in danger echidnas quickly dig down into soft ground leaving only the tips of the spines visible TermiteTermites mound Two weeks after mating the female lays an egg into the pouch on her belly It hatches after 10 days and the puggle (baby echidna) remains in the pouch for months When the spines grow, the baby is left in a den while the mother hunts for food Puggle Spines growing Match the words with the definitions 1 monotreme _ Animal home pouch _ Sharp point hatch _ A mammal which lays eggs and feeds its young with milk spine _ Animal’s nose den _ Baby echidna puggle _ To come out of an egg snout _ Pocket of skin for animal babies Find answers to these questions: Where echidnas live? What colour are echidnas? What echidnas eat? What puggles eat? Where is the mouth? How much the largest echidnas weigh? True or False?  or  Female echidnas are smaller than males They have long tails They have strong claws for digging They have sharp teeth The puggle stays in the pouch for months