FIND OUT WHAT A PUGGLE IS

A puggle is a baby echidna.  Now that tells you a lot.  I’d never before heard of echidnas or puggles, but learned that the echidnas are related to the platypus.

Not many people have seen a puggle, and when they do, a smile from ear to ear is guaranteed! 

The Taronga Wildlife Hospital has recently become home to a 40 day old Echidna puggle, 

found on a path in a caravan park.  Annabelle, a Taronga Vet Nurse and 

surrogate Mum to ‘Beau’, had not seen a puggle at such a young age 

in over 15 years of caring for sick and injured wildlife at the Zoo.

The rarity of seeing an Echidna at this age is due to the habit of the adult females who stash 

their young in a burrow from about 50 days old. The puggle remains in the burrow for some 

months, with the female going out to feed, returning every few days to feed it milk.

Both Echidna and Platypus feed their young in an unusual way. Instead of having teats 

like other mammals, they have milk patches which excrete milk for their young to lap up. 

This is why Annabelle has to feed Beau from the palm of her hand, so it can lap milk as it 

would do in the wild. Once feeding, Beau resembles a mini vacuum cleaner, going back 

and forth making sure every drop of milk is sucked up – contributing to its ever growing belly.

Fun -

WORD RE-ARRANGEMENTS

DORMITORY
 Letters rearranged: DIRTY ROOM

ASTRONOMER
 Letters rearranged: MOON STARER

DESPERATION
 Letters rearranged: A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES
 Letters rearranged: THEY SEE

THE MORSE CODE
 Letters rearranged: HERE COME DOTS