Species Saturday Vol 10: Echidnas, a.k.a miracle fire hedeghogs
For this Species Saturday I found out something pretty amazing. I was looking for fire related facts about animals to coincide with Bonfire night, and I found out that Echidna's can survive through bush fires?! Please do read on it's quite incredible...
🔥 You'd think they have some amazing system that allows them to survive and thrive in fire, but quite simply...they go to sleep
🔥 Rather than flee a fire, they will simply find a nice sheltered spot (so not directly in the fire) and go to sleep for the duration of the fire.
🔥 They can go into a type of hibernation called torpor which drastically lowers their body temperatures and allows them to wait out the fires. They will continue to stay in this state until local ecosystems start to bounce back so that when they rise there will be insects for them to eat!
After all the bush fires in Australia, you can see why these animals are native! But they are not like a hedgehog, so please please remember to check your bonfires before lighting them this weekend! 🦔
Source from -Â https://www.treehugger.com/these-weird-creatures-have-superpower-allows-them-survive-fire-4863848Â