Echidna, Spiny Ant Eater
I used to have these guys crawling across my backyard at a house I used to live in, but this photo was taken at a zoo in Victoria. Why? Echidnas are very timid animals, and the moment you get close to one they curl up into a little spiky ball, with face and feet curled up underneath. There is no sneaking up on them, and absolutely no point waiting for them to snap out of it and uncurl. They will just sit there for hours waiting for you to go away.
So I took this shot at a zoo, as I said, where there are so many people watching them all the time that they have learned to ignore people altogether.
I prefer to take wildlife photos in the wild, as do most nature photographers I’m sure. But there are some animals that are so rare, or so hard to photograph even when you can find them, that you really have no choice but to go to some kind of wildlife park.
Hope you like the photo. You can see lots more of my wildlife photos at www.naturesimage.com.au and the majority of them are photographed in the wild – I promise. Also loads of landscapes, rainforest images etc.
Tags: australia, australian, echidna, image, photo, photography, spiny ant eater, wildlife
