The Hedgehog With The Duck's Bill (89/268)

The Hedgehog With The Duck's Bill (89/268)

The first mammals over 100 million years ago actually still laid eggs like reptiles, but they carried their eggs around with them until they hatched. The young one then licked the milk from a fold in its mother's skin. One of the animals from this era has survived until the present day. It is the echidna, also known as the spiny ant-eater. It is to be found throughout Australia in the forests and savannas, as well as in the high mountain regions. In a special place, Kangaroo Island, it has found not only a refuge for survival, but also a researcher who has focussed her life's work on this animal: Peggy Rismiller. Whereas the original fauna of Australia is extremely endangered and in many cases already exterminated, much of it has managed to survive on Kangaroo Island. The island only drifted away from the mainland about 9,500 years ago. Since then the flora and fauna there has remained relatively isolated. A situation which has remained virtually unchanged since the first settlers came around 200 years ago. Untouched by epidemics and other misfortunes, a kind of Noah's ark has been preserved here, reflecting the original wildlife on the Australian continent. In this ideal environment Peggy Rismiller has become the first person to air the secrets of the primeval echidna, the hedgehog with the duck's bill. We learn about its reproduction, its nutrition, the other animals that share the island and about its only enemy - the monitor lizard.

The following new episodes are available:

• Jaguar Safari
  

• The Guinea Pig and his Grumpy Neighbors
• Raccoon Party
• Tiger Country
• Portugal - The Return of the Wild Creatures