Sorry, to sound a bit quirky here ... but I just love the sight of echidnas mucking about in their enclosure. Curious, yet fascinating stuff these low grounders! I frequently study them in their exhibit in Blijdorp, Rotterdam (which is sadly tucked away in the indoor Bird House). Now biology wise I think we really do not know that much about them (at least I have never seen any decent ecological studies on them .. but perhaps that does not travel far out of the Antipodes). What about their habits and feeding? Nutrition in captivity (how is that different from the wild)? Pretty much I think it is mega.. difficult to have them breed in captivity. I know several Aussie zoos maintain them in larger group settings, e.g. Adelaide, Beerwah, Currumbin, Healesville, Taronga and Perth. ISIS list Perth as having bred a youngster and I think Adelaide has some success too. Outside Oz I seem to remember only 1 US zoo has ever had successful offspring by their echidna. Why is it so damn difficult?
from what i have read it seems groups are a key ingredient here. females on heat create trains being followed by many males and it may be that male "competition" element that is lacking. it may also be important to have a large area of outdoor space in which to perform such behaviors. a few australian zoos have had a birth or two but its far from common and something to celebrate. i think more recently we have stepped up efforts here to understand more and replicate past success'. i think the LA zoo is somewhat successful (memory?)... taronga has the only (pretty ancient) pair of long-beaked echidna's outside new guinea. i'm hoping that long-term more are imported, in bulk here, since australian zoos are probably at an advantage when it comes to attempting to sustain this endangered species in captivity. whilst it is assumed, interestingly it is not proven that they even lay eggs!!
I'm an echidna fan too! I think Patrick's right in that several males seem to be needed to stimulate breeding, although I don't know if this constitutes a true lek. At Perth they had several animals but no breeding for years, they introduced new males to even up the sex ratio and got the right result. Baby echidna a first for Perth Zoo - Perth Zoo - Western Australia
There is an excellent book about echidnas written by Peggy Rismiller titled "Echidna:Australia's Enigma". she has worked with them in the wild for nearly 20 years on Kangaroo Island. One important component to breeding is the lighting. The male echidna needs changing photoperiods to insure testicular growth in the breeding season. The proper lighting starts growth by the autumnal equinox, with the testes ultimately reaching the size of golf balls, then reverting to a much smaller size by the vernal equinox. Echidnas have been born at Philadelphia, St. Louis, LA, maybe others. Male echidnas are sexually active every year. Female echidnas are not necessarily the same--they vary from a 2-5 year cycle. After breeding they return to living a solitary lifestyle. This also occurs in the wild populations. Captive diets generally follow along the lines of diets for anteaters. Peggy's research has been quite extensive in the wild. US holders of echidnas try to meet every year or so to discuss problems and successes. I'm currently looking at the monitor showing all areas of our echidna exhibit. We have cameras which record the activity 24/7. So far this year we've had some following, but little receptivity from the female. We'll keep watching!
Thanx for the extensive comments. Do you have the ISBN for the book? What wonders me though, is this knowledge being tossed around the world (US-Aussie zoos + some Europeans). I know in Europe only Rotterdam have more than 1 male with 1 female (I think I read a year or so ago they had some breeding behaviour ...).
Outside of Australia the 2 zoos that i know of that have bred echidna are Basel and Philadelphia (i think?)
I brought up echidnas breeding outside Australia in this thread: http://www.zoobeat.com/2/animals-we-would-like-see-imported-310/index5.html some people listed zoos that had had success
The ISBN for Peggy Rismiller's book is 0-88363-788-X. It was published in 1999 by Hugh Lauter Levin Associates.
