Today’s burning question is: “Are there Mammals that lay eggs?”
You bet, and where in the world could we find such a creature? Australia of course.
Earth Ranger Emma is back in the outback to investigate this new animal mystery… Get ready to meet some perfectly precious puggles.

Howdy Earth Rangers, we’re out in the Down Under (that’s Australia and New Zealand) today to solve a new mystery… but not just any mystery – an animal mystery!

Australia is filled with strange animals. There’s the “Tasmanian Tiger”, which isn’t actually a tiger – but the now-extinct Thylacine! There’s also the Tasmanian Devil that’s the largest surviving carnivorous marsupial to date. This isn’t even mentioning all the big insects found there. So what can we find in Australia that may answer today’s question?

THE QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Are there Mammals that lay eggs?

The echidna is a mystery of its own… is it a bird? A mammal? Is it like an anteater? Just what is it? The echidna lays eggs, like a bird, it also has a long snout-like beak, like a bird. But this nose is more like an anteater’s, with a long tongue used to slurp up ants and termites. It also feeds its babies with milk, just like a mammal! But unlike a mammal, they have spikes instead of teeth!

Whew! That’s a lot, isn’t it? But just what is the echidna?

Echidnas are monotreme, mammals that lay eggs. Echidnas are one of the only two animals IN THE WHOLE WORLD to belong to this order…which makes them super-duper special! The only other monotreme (besides the echidna) is the platypus…which is a whole different mystery.

Who would have thought that there was a one-word answer to this question? Going to Australia, and seeing baby echidnas (called puggles, isn’t that cute?), the adventure was worth it! We’re on our way to answering our next set of questions, but don’t hesitate to send us more of your own!

Do you have a fun animal mystery you want us to explore?
Let us know in the comments in the Earth Rangers App.