Echidna Rescue!

You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.

Edwin Louis Cole

Hello, Lovelies.

We undertook a dramatic rescue operation yesterday afternoon.

As I was walking up the hill to water our fruit trees my fairy friend Sokli yelled out, ‘Hey, that poor friend needs some help. Hurry! Help him! He’s almost out of energy for swimming!’

A large echidna (also known as a spiny ant eater) had fallen into our pool, and then wedged part of its body in the skimmer box, trying to keep his head out of the water, so he could stay alive. It’s winter here in Australia, and the pool water was freezing cold.

It took some careful (and cold!) work to extract him safely. Echidnas are covered in spines, so it wasn’t an easy rescue. Poor Mr Echidna was exhausted and his entire body was chilled and pale grey from cold. So we bundled him up and into a sturdy box and sat him in the afternoon sun.

He was still too cold though, as nightfall came around, so we brought him into the house and left him in a quiet corner of the lounge room by the fire.

This morning he seems much brighter, and his skin is dark and warm again, so we will release him back into the yard, ready for his next adventure!

This short video introduces you to the echidna, if you have never met one before! We have several echidna families here on our farm.

I’m glad we were able to rescue this one!

May you all find friends to help you too, in your hour of need.

Much love to you, Nicole xx