Australia really is as red as this although I did up the amps a little bit.

We have echidnas on our block here in the bush although they keep a low profile and we don't see them that often. It's a very odd animal, solitary. The young suckle milk from their mother but are hatched first from an egg like a chicken. Seems like a miracle but she keeps her egg in a pouch and it takes only 10 days or so to hatch. The baby is allowed to suckle until the spines are ready to grow and then the mother makes a burrow for her baby. No way is she going to carry a prickle patch around! She leaves her baby alone in the burrow and comes back every 5 days to let it suckle. The spines are full length by about 240 days. It can then take care of itself.
And I know the Australian echidna looks like a porcupine or a hedgehog and that all three are mammals but they belong to three different species. Nature is truly amazing!

Anna Aspnes
AP Across the Miles
Multimedia Christmas Trees (splatter)
Fotoblendz Overlay
AP Ablaze (transfer)
AP Autumn Elegance (transfer)
various artstrokes!
AP Science (tape)
AP Beach (tape)

Thanks for looking!