Sir David's Long-beaked Echidna

## About

Trail cam footage of the Sir David's long-beaked echidna.

Sir David's long-beaked echidna ***(Zaglossus attenboroughri)*** also known as Attenborough's long beaked echidna, is the smallest of the long-beaked echidna and one of few extant monotreme species. The Sir David's long beaked echidna is covered in dark coarse hair accented by milky white keratin quills protruding from its hairy back. Unlike the Australian short-beaked variety of echidna, long-beaked echidnas are typically much more enigmatic. Long-beaked echidnas are geographically restricted to the island of Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian province of Papua. They are mainly nocturnal, only revealing themselves at night to forage. Sir David's long-beaked echidnas grow to a weight 5-10kg (11-22lbs). Though the exact length of the live echidna is not known, the Sir David's long-beaked echidna is the smallest of the echidna species. The Sir David's long-beaked echidna was known solely from a damaged taxidermised specimen found during the Dutch rule of New Guinea, around 1961 however, in 2007, evidence of the species was found in the Cyclops mountains (where it occurs) in the form of newly dug burrows and other disturbances. Finally, the species was formally rediscovered in November of 2023, where the first footage of a live long-beaked echidna was captured for the first time in the form of a trail cam stream in the Cyclops mountains.

## Diet

Sir David's long-beaked echidna is insectivorous and eats mainly ants and termites. Echidnas use their specialised tongues to capture them through hard to reach crevasses and holes. Their tongues are coated in a glue-like saliva, assisting them in more efficiently gathering prey. When hunting, the Sir David's long-beaked echidna creates "nose-holes" in areas where they have fed. These disturbances were one of the few things hinting to the to the species' continued existence in the eyes of researchers during the 2007 expedition for the species.

## Conservation Status

The Sir David's long-beaked echidna is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. Due to of the long-beaked echidna's small range and even smaller population, it is under massive threat of becoming extinct due to anthropogenic factors. As humans encroach further into its isolated habitat, they introduce invasive predators such as dogs ***(Canis familiaris)***. Studies suggest that the introduction of non-native predators onto the island have in the past, resulted in the regional extinction of other long-beaked echidna species. According to the IUCN, it is thought that land-degradation, deforestation and the overall transition of rainforest to farmland and settlements may not threaten the species directly, but the resulting human-echidna interaction will endanger the species.

## Range and Population

Sir David's long-beaked echidnas live in the rainforests, montane forests and cloud forests of the isolated Cyclops mountains west on the the Papua New Guinea-Indonesia border, in the province of Papua. There, they live mostly undisturbed even by each other. The Sir David's long-beaked echidna population is unknown, but thought to be low and decreasing, judging by the species absence from science for the past 60+ years.

## Behaviour

The Sir David's long-beaked echidna is incredibly enigmatic and due to the species being assumed extinct until very recently, very little has been done to survey the behavioural characteristics of the species. One thing that is known about the species is that they are fossorial and are known to dig burrows, as do all echidna species. The Sir David's long-beaked echidna has backwards-facing hind legs, which aid them in shoveling dirt while digging, but adversely give them a hobbling or waddling gait, limiting their mobility. Long-beaked echidnas are not social and only see other echidnas during the proposed winter mating season (June-August). Very little is known about the echidna's behaviour as they are very hard to come across.

### Relationship with Humans

Sir David's echidna as well as other long-beaked echidna species are hunted for food in their range, as they are considered a delicacy locally. They are also commonly killed by invasive predators such as domestic dogs, which were introduced to New Guinea through anthropogenic means.

### In Captivity

There are obviously no Sir David's long-beaked echidnas in captivity, let alone any species of long-beaked echidna. This is because long-beaked echidnas are hard to introduce into captivity, as a result of their specialised habitat and behavioural characteristics. Short-beaked echidnas on the other hand are very plentiful in zoos even outside of Australia, being much more adaptable.

## Sources

* IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/136322/21964353
* Sir David's long-beaked Echidna | Edge of Existence - http://www.edgeofexistence.org/species/attenboroughs-long-beaked-echidna/
* Sir David's Long-Beaked Echidna | Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology - https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Zaglossus\_attenboroughi/
* Sir David's Long-Beaked Echidna | Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir\_David%27s\_long-beaked\_echidna
* Long-Beaked Echidna | Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-beaked\_echidna
* First ever images prove 'Lost Echidna' not extinct - https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67363874
* Researchers rediscovered a spiky, beaked echidna named after Sir David Attenborough that hasn't been seen for 60 years and was thought to be extinct | Business Insider - https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/scientists-took-the-first-ever-photos-of-an-adorable-echidna-named-after-david-attenborough-that-hasnt-been-seen-for-over-60-years/articleshow/105136301.cms