Echidna CSI: Conservation Science Initiative

We want to learn more about echidnas! Where they are, what they are doing, if they are healthy- so we can work towards their conservation. How can you help? By taking photos and collecting scats (i.e. poo).
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Although an iconic native Australian animal, we do not know much about echidnas’ wild populations, as they are extremely hard to find (when you’re actually looking for them).

​However, we know that there are many of you that have seen wild echidnas (sometimes even in your own backyard!) and taken photos or videos of them.

With your help and photo taking abilities we can start filling in the gaps about wild echidnas in Australia.

What we also need help with is collecting echidna scats (which is a nicer way of saying poo). Why? Because we can get a lot of information about echidnas through the molecules in their scats. We can get out DNA and hormones to tell us who that echidna is, if it’s healthy, stressed or reproductively active. And so we can learn more about these wild populations without having to track or capture any of these animals.