UPDATE: Beau the Orphaned Echidna Puggle is Going Strong
December 29, 2012
ZooBorns has been keeping fans of Beau the Echidna puggle updated on his progress ever since he was introduced on October 23. That's when the Taronga Zoo first shared photos of the tiny baby Echidna after he was found orphaned on a hiking trail near Sydney, Australia. Taronga Zoo staff estimate that he was about a month old at the time of his rescue.
Photo Credit: Taronga Zoo
Two months later, Beau is growing strong under the care of the Taronga Zoo staff. Beau will take milk from his keepers' hands for several more months, as Echidnas are not fully weaned until they are seven or eight months old. Echidna puggles normally suck milk from patches on their mothers' bellies, rather than from teats.
Echidnas are mammals, but they belong to a subgroup of mammals called monotremes. This speical group includes Echidnas and Platypus, and they are the only mammals that lay eggs.