weird looking ground possum

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Isn't that a hedgehog?

Perhaps there's some superficial resemblance, but they're not at all related, it's not even a placental mammal. This is an Australian echidna (the OP was joking about it being a possum, although it's much more closely related to a possum than a hedgehog). These are quite amazing animals, they lay eggs and have a pouch in which their babies spend the first part of their lives after hatching. Their quills are much larger than a hedgehog's and the whole animal is larger.
 
Perhaps there's some superficial resemblance, but they're not at all related, it's not even a placental mammal. This is an Australian echidna (the OP was joking about it being a possum, although it's much more closely related to a possum than a hedgehog).
Awesome. Thanks. I thought maybe hedgehogs were called possums over there or something. Looking into the echidna, they're also called anteaters and I thought it looked like one of them too. Sorry I didn't catch the sarcasm.
 
Sorry, I keep forgetting we have members from overseas on here. I probably should have mentioned what it actually was.
 
Awesome. Thanks. I thought maybe hedgehogs were called possums over there or something. Looking into the echidna, they're also called anteaters and I thought it looked like one of them too. Sorry I didn't catch the sarcasm.
haha, anteaters are actually a completely separate animal. These guys are only found in Aus :)
 
Mobile ant hoover.

I found one in roaming about once when I was kid, we were camping near Mudgee .

Perfectly harmless unless you are a termite or an ant. Dad opened it's "pouch" and we saw two of the ugliest naked but somehow cutest little babies there.

We let it go and it soon unrolled and was waddling away into the undergrowth , none the worse for the encounter and I'd learnt something .
 
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That's amazing, what a weird creature.It's not a mammal but it is warm blooded, it lays eggs but keeps the baby in a pouch, it doesn't have nipples but feeds the baby with milk from it's hair. Talk about contradiction .
 
That's amazing, what a weird creature.It's not a mammal but it is warm blooded, it lays eggs but keeps the baby in a pouch, it doesn't have nipples but feeds the baby with milk from it's hair. Talk about contradiction .

They are mammals, but not placental mammals. There are three groups of mammals; placentals (most mammals, including humans), marsupials (very rare outside Australia, but most native Australian mammals are marsupials) and monotremes (only three species).

What's the contradiction?
 
Many years ago I was bow-hunting near Wyangala Dam and spotted 1 of these guys , I forgot about hunting and followed him for an hour
That's like the best way to spend some time out bush, still bowhunt?
Send me a message if you ever want to hunt SE Qld
 
That's like the best way to spend some time out bush, still bowhunt?
Send me a message if you ever want to hunt SE Qld
Thanks for the offer but I'm on the wrong side of 60 and full of arthritis, haven't pulled a bow in 20 years. I used to have a 50-70lb compound bow, fletched my own shafts and notched all my broadheads. Because I also did leatherwork I made my own glove,wristguard and quiver
 
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