The Echidna The Eastern Long Beaked Echidna Nick Corlew, Harrison Simons, and Charlie Lichauer

The Echidna The Eastern Long Beaked Echidna Nick Corlew, Harrison Simons, and Charlie Lichauer

Zaglossus bruijini / Z. Bruijini

The Eastern Long-Beaked Echidna Thesis: Nothing that is innocent deserves to die. We need to stop hunting of the Echidna before they go extinct.

1. Brief description of your endangered animal. 2. Why is the animal important to the ecosystem? 3. What human behaviors are a threat to the species? The 6 4. What are the (realistic) steps to take the animal off the Threatened/Endangered Species List? 5. How long will your recovery plan take AND how much money you will need? 6. Infographic about your animal (compilation of all the individual work)

My reasons to attempt to protect the Echidna 15-20 pound mammal that lays eggs. Long snout and preys on earth worms. They control the worm population. Hunting. Not commercial but traditional hunting is approved. The fastest realistic way to lower endangerment is to bread them. I could actually do this most on my own. I would only need money to pay for food, water, and housing for the echidnas.

The IUCN It was vulnerable as early as 1982. Then 1990 was its last year as Vulnerable. They became endangered in 1994. Then in 2008 the Echidna reached critically endangered.

The Amount Left Of Few There is an estimated 10,000 or less left. If we continue at the rate we are at we will kill of the Eastern Long Beaked Echidna.

The Gov. There and Why they are Endangered Numbers of the Long Beaked mammal have decreased due to human activities including habitat loss and hunting. The long-beaked echidna is a delicacy. The fact about this awful matter is commercial hunting of the species has been banned by the Indonesian and Papua New Guinean governments, which is awesome but traditional hunting is still permitted and it s taking its toll.

The Big 3

ANATOMY OF THE THREATENED OR ENDANGERED SPECIES

The Facts The Eastern Long Beaked Echidna is a brown spiked mammal that lays eggs. They only weigh 15-20 pounds. A length of 29 to 39 inches and they live about 30 years. They also have no tail. I have not found any close relatives other than the short beaked enchida

REPRODUCTION

The Facts The best and only way I found reproduction from the echidna was on wikipedia.com The eastern longbeaked echidna is a member of the order Monotremata. Although monotremes have some of the same mammal features such as hair and mammary glands, they do not give birth to live young, they lay eggs. Like birds and reptiles, monotremes have a single opening, the cloaca. The cloaca allows for the passage of urine and feces, the transmission of sperm, and the laying of eggs. [7] Little is actually known about the breeding behaviors of this animal, due to the difficulty of finding and tracking specimens. [8] Unfortunately, the way the spines on the echidna lie make it difficult to attach tracking devices, in addition to the difficulty in finding the animals themselves, as they are mainly nocturnal. [8]

BEHAVIOR

The Facts It is very unclear on their behavior because they have not done any experiments on them because they are so endangered.

Females lay the eggs and the eggs hatch around 10 days later. Juveniles stay in the female s pouch for another 6 to 7 weeks until the spines grow in and the young are weaned after around seven months. Females lay the eggs and the eggs hatch around 10 days later. Juveniles stay in the female s pouch for another 6 to 7 weeks until the spines grow in and the young are weaned after around seven months. They breed around April or May. Average is one offspring. Typically they are weak, takes 7 months until they can live on their own. They are to be seen almost as a smaller version of the adult until it grows up the physical appearance is the same. http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/zaglossus_bartoni/ BEHAVIOR - Does the species live in groups, herds, or alone? Unique or unusual behaviors. In what ways does this animal interact with humans? Is it helpful/useful or harmful? They typically live alone except for one male and female that live together. They have similar behaviors to the ground hog with their living style. It doesn t interact with humans much except when they leave their hole. It is useful to humans by their meat that tastes good to the natives. It will not hurt any humans except if they come into contact with it by disturbing their habitat. http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/zaglossus_bartoni/

The Eastern Long-Beaked Echidna looks somewhat like a hedgehog, only it has a long, down curved snout. Anatomy of the eastern longbeaked echidna The spines on the back of the Echidna are usually light colored, and come out of a light brown to a black fur coat. When an Echidna is fully grown, it can range from 4.2kg (9.26 lbs) to 9.1kg (20.06 lbs). When it is in its younger years, it can range from 3.2kg (7.5 lbs) to 5.1kg (11.24 lbs).

Although the Eastern Long-Beaked Echidna is a mammal, it lays eggs. It is one of the few mammals that can lay eggs, along with the platypus and the shortbeaked echidna. Reproduction The eggs only take about 10 days to hatch, but the babies stay in the mothers pouch for 6-7 weeks after so that their spine can fully develop. The months in which the Echidna breeds are in April and May and they average one offspring. When the offspring come out of the mothers pouch, they are very weak. It can take up to 7 months for the baby to be able to survive by itself.

The Eastern Long-Beaked Echidna typically lives alone, with the exception of another male/female and their child. Behavior They behave similar to a groundhog by the way that they live and they way that they interact with other species. The Echidna will not hurt anything unless it comes into contact with its habitat.

The Eastern long-beaked echidna has been recorded in both rainforest and alpine meadows. Biotic and abiotic factors of the habitat Some biotic factors of the rainforest and alpine meadows are insects, bear grass, moss, lichens, flowering plants, and trees. Some of the abiotic factors of the rainforest and alpine meadow are temperature, precipitation, wind, climate, and the terrain.

Geographic distribution The Eastern Long-Beaked Echidna is originally from New Guinea. It can only be found in the mountainous regions of New Guinea, and in both Papua New Guinea in the west and Irian Jaya on the Indonesian side.

Diet The diet of the Echidna consists mainly of earthworms, which is very abundant in the region that they live in. The Echidna would mainly be considered prey because humans hunt them down and eat them.

Symbiotic relationships The Echidna has very little relationships, mainly because it is a solitary creature. It keeps to itself and digs a hole as a home.

Is the Species Endangered or threatened? The Eastern Long-Beaked Echidna is in an endangered state as of right now. It is widely hunted and its habitat is being destroyed.

Reasons for endangerment The Echidna is endangered because of intensive hunting, being undertaken by local people for food, and a losing of their habitat due to the conversion of suitable land for cultivation has made the eastern long beaked echidna endangered.

Human importance Natives of New Guinea hunt down and eat the Eastern Echidna and they need the Echidnas habitat for cultivation.

Population graph

Government intervention The government of New Guinea has already made the echidna protected and has kept it from getting hunted.

Thank You