Short-beaked Echidna (mating 'train') (Tachyglossus aculeatus) Canberra, Australia, Sept 2020 (4K)
The Echidna is one of two egg-laying Mammals extant in Australia, the other being the Platypus vimeo.com/347045319
Echidnas are still widely distributed throughout Australia and feed on ants and termites. In spring the females come into heat and can attract the attention of multiple males at the same time. When this happens you get the female being followed by multiple males, often in a line, known colloquially as a 'train'. What you see here is one such occasion, the female is the individual with lots of mud in her spines, being followed by four males. It is not a sight I have seen often and this is the first time I've filmed one happening. Filmed in Mulligan's Flat NR, in the north of Canberra.