Attenborough Echidna

• More than sixty years after it was last recorded, an expedition team has rediscovered an iconic, egg-laying mammal in one of the most unexplored regions of the world.

ABOUT THE SPECIES

• Scientific name– Zaglossus attenboroughi
• Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, named after famed broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, was captured for the first time in photos and video footage using remote trail cameras set up in the Cyclops Mountains of Indonesia’s Papua Province.
• It was last seen in 1961.
• It belongs to the monotreme group of mammals, known for their unique characteristic of laying eggs.
  • This echidna is one of the five surviving monotreme species.
• Echidnas are notoriously difficult to find since they are nocturnal, live in burrows, and tend to be very shy.
• Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna has never been recorded anywhere outside the Cyclops Mountains.
• It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.