How echidnas find bugs
Echidnas are small, spiky animals. They eat bugs, worms, and ants. Echidnas do not see very well, so they use their snout and tiny whiskers to feel for food.
Step by step
- First, the echidna pokes its long snout into the dirt or leaf pile.
- When a bug moves, it makes tiny wiggles in the dirt.
- The echidna feels those tiny wiggles with special sensors on its snout and whiskers.
- Then it digs a little with its strong claws and uses its sticky tongue to catch the bug.
So echidnas find food by feeling little movements in the ground, not by looking.
Fun pretend game
Close your eyes. Put one hand in a box or behind a blanket with some soft toys. Have an adult or friend wiggle one toy. Try to find the wiggling toy by feeling. You are being an echidna!