Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

South Australia, National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972: Endangered.

Breeding season

The following pattern represents the documented seasonal cycle, with regional variation. Breeding begins earlier in Tasmania and Kangaroo Island than in some other areas, and hibernation can alter the timing of mating and pregnancy in colder regions.

Timing varies with latitude, elevation, climate and population. Any suspected nursery burrow, concealed shelter or dependent young should be managed under the project fauna procedure before disturbance.

• Breeding: Mating generally occurs from June to September. Documented regional periods include early June to September in Tasmania, early June to early August on Kangaroo Island, and mid-July to early September in south-eastern Queensland.
• Young: A single egg is usually laid about two weeks after mating, hatches after 10 to 11 days in the pouch, and the puggle remains dependent for about 140 to 210 days. The exact peak varies by region.
• Movement and dispersal: Adults wander over large home ranges rather than defending territories. Juveniles generally remain within the mother’s home range for their first year and disperse at about 12 to 18 months, with no specific seasonal peak provided.
• Torpor or hibernation: Non-reproductively active echidnas in colder eastern areas may hibernate through to spring. Some females may re-enter hibernation after mating, which can extend pregnancy.
• Highest clearing risk: The highest risk is from winter through spring and into the dependent-young period, when mating, egg laying, hatching, nursery-burrow use and maternal care occur. Clearing can also harm adults using torpor or hibernation shelters in colder regions.

Identification

Short-beaked Echidnas are distinctive, heavily spined mammals with a long narrow snout and powerful digging limbs. They are usually identified by direct observation, feeding disturbance and shelter sites rather than by calls.

Adults are 35 to 52 cm long and can weigh up to 6 kg. The body is covered by fur and cream to black spines, which can reach 50 mm long. Fur is generally reddish to dark brown, and individuals from colder areas have denser hair. The snout is 7 to 8 cm long, with the mouth at its tip.

Body length: 35 to 52 cm

Maximum weight: Up to 6 kg

Spine length: Up to 50 mm

Snout length: 7 to 8 cm

• The front feet have five flattened claws adapted for digging and opening logs and termite mounds.
• The hind feet point backwards and can push soil away during burrowing; the back claws are also used for grooming.
• When threatened, an echidna may roll into a ball with its spines exposed or burrow into the ground.

Identification: Similar species and sex

No other Australian terrestrial mammal has the same combination of dense spines, long narrow snout and monotreme body form. The Platypus is the other Australian monotreme, but it is aquatic and has a broad bill, webbed feet and a flattened tail, rather than spines and digging claws.

Puggle size at hatching: About 13 to 15 mm long and approximately 0.3 g

Sex identification: Females are usually smaller, but reliable field separation is not provided

• Females are usually smaller than males, but the documents do not provide a reliable field character for determining sex.
• A juvenile is called a puggle and is initially hairless, unpigmented and very small, so it may not resemble an adult echidna.

Identification: Field signs

Feeding signs include holes and torn openings in rotten logs, termite mounds and soil where the animal has used its claws and snout to reach ants or termites. Burrowing may leave freshly disturbed soil, and shelter burrows may have a single entrance that is back-filled with soil.

• Search carefully around hollow logs, termite mounds, rock shelters, tree roots, soil piles and dense ground cover.
• Do not rely on calls, as the supplied documents do not describe a diagnostic vocalisation for this species.
• Treat an occupied-looking burrow or concealed shelter as potentially containing an echidna or dependent young until checked by an appropriately authorised fauna professional.

Distribution: Documented range

The supplied documents confirm the Short-beaked Echidna in Victoria and in surveys across Australian arid and semi-arid zones. They do not provide a complete state by state range, mapped bioregional limits, stronghold list or national population estimate.

The species occurs throughout Victoria, according to the Victorian distribution information. It was also detected during vertebrate surveys across arid and semi-arid zones, including areas where forest-dwelling fauna were recorded.

Confirmed distribution in supplied documents: Throughout Victoria, plus arid and semi-arid survey areas

National range map: Not provided in the supplied documents

Bioregional strongholds: Not identified in the supplied documents

• Documented records in the supplied material include Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
• The survey material also records the species among mammals detected in arid and semi-arid Australian environments.
• The available documents do not identify all occupied states, bioregions or elevation limits.

Distribution: Population information

The supplied documents do not provide a national population size, density estimate or quantified population trend. One source describes a long-lived species whose survival varies with rainfall and temperature, and reports an average life span of 16.7 years in years with good rainfall and milder temperatures.

Average life span in one wild study: 16.7 years

National population size: Not stated

Population trend: Not quantified in the supplied documents

• Do not infer local absence from a single unsuccessful survey, because the species can be difficult to detect and may shelter underground or under cover.
• Record the exact location and condition of any individual, burrow, feeding sign or shelter so that local habitat use can be assessed before works begin.

Habitat: Habitat types

Short-beaked Echidnas use a broad range of terrestrial habitats. They require access to invertebrate prey, cover for shelter and soils or other structures that can provide refuge and, in some cases, a nursery burrow.

The species is usually found in open heathland, forests, woodlands, scrublands and grasslands. It may occur among vegetation, in hollow logs or under bushes, and can use both relatively open ground and areas with dense cover.

• Retain connected patches of native vegetation where practicable, especially where they contain hollow logs, termite mounds, rock cover, dense ground vegetation or loose soil.
• Inspect open ground as well as wooded areas, because nursery burrows may occur in pasture, dry sclerophyll vegetation, sand hills or other exposed sites.

Habitat: Structural features

Important habitat features include rotten logs, termite mounds, tree roots, rocks, caves, leaf litter, soil banks and dense vegetation. These features can provide food access, daily shelter or nursery sites.

Territorial behaviour: The species does not defend a territory and wanders over a large home range

Elevation and climate limits: Not specified in the supplied documents

Vegetation communities: Open heathland, forests, woodlands, scrublands and grasslands

• Avoid unnecessary removal of hollow logs, fallen timber, rock piles, termite mounds and substantial ground cover.
• Where clearing is staged, inspect and manage retained habitat edges because echidnas may wander across large home ranges rather than defend a fixed territory.

Foraging habitat: Diet and feeding method

Short-beaked Echidnas feed mainly on ants and termites. They locate prey by smell, then excavate soil, rotten logs or termite mounds and collect prey with a long sticky tongue.

The main prey are ants and termites, although other invertebrates are also eaten. Echidnas have no teeth and grind food between the tongue and roof of the mouth.

Main prey: Ants and termites

Other food: Other invertebrates

Foraging periods: Usually early morning and late evening

• Look for disturbed soil, opened termite mounds, torn rotten logs and small excavations around ant or termite activity.
• The species generally forages during the cooler parts of the day, especially early morning and late evening.
• Maintain prey-producing features such as termite mounds, decaying timber, leaf litter and areas of relatively undisturbed soil.

Foraging habitat: Foraging area

The species wanders over a large home range and does not defend a territory. The supplied documents do not provide a measured home-range size or foraging distance.

Home range: Described as large, but no area is provided

Foraging distance: Not stated in the supplied documents

• Assess habitat beyond the immediate clearing footprint where practical, because an individual may use several separated food and shelter sites.
• Avoid treating a single feeding location as the full area used by an individual.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding is seasonal, but timing varies with latitude, elevation and local climate. Females require a secure nursery site with stable temperature and protection from predators while the young develop.

Mating generally occurs during winter, shortly after animals emerge from hibernation in colder areas. Females usually produce one young, and twins are very rare. The egg is laid into the pouch, where it hatches after about 10 to 11 days.

Breeding season: Generally June to September, with regional variation

Eggs: One soft, leathery egg; twins are very rare

Gestation: About 21 to 22 days, or 22 to 48 days where hibernation extends pregnancy

Egg incubation: About 10 to 11 days in the pouch

Lactation: About 125 to 145 days in Tasmania, 150 to 165 days in south-eastern Queensland, and 200 to 210 days in Kangaroo Island and Western Australia

Weaning: About 140 to 210 days, depending on population and region

Age at maturity: About 5 years in the wild on Kangaroo Island; managed-care animals may mature at about 3 years

Life span: Average wild life span of 16.7 years in one study; some individuals live substantially longer

• Males may follow a female for several weeks, and courtship groups can occur under rocks, in grass tussocks, at tree bases, in rotten stumps, hollow logs, burrows or soil depressions.
• Females may dig a nursery burrow 1 to 2 days before laying, or use a natural opening under tree roots, in a rock crevice or another protected site.
• Female echidnas provide all parental care; males do not rear the young.

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

Nursery burrows are shallow, generally have one entrance and are back-filled with soil. They may occur in soil piles, leaf litter, termite mounds, near tree roots, rocks or caves, sand hills, pasture and dry sclerophyll vegetation.

Nursery burrow depth: Shallow; no numerical depth is provided

Nursery burrow entrance: Usually single and back-filled with dirt

Return interval while foraging: The mother may return every 5 to 10 days to nurse the young

• Protect potential nursery sites during the breeding and dependent-young period, particularly shallow burrows and natural openings that can be concealed by leaf litter or soil.
• Retain nearby foraging habitat because females leave the nursery to feed and may return at intervals of 5 to 10 days to nurse the young.
• Avoid disturbing the temperature of nursery burrows by stripping surrounding soil, removing cover or exposing the entrance.

Sheltering habitat: Daily refuges

Short-beaked Echidnas use both natural and excavated shelters. Shelters include burrows, hollow logs, rock crevices, tree-root cavities, vegetation and soil cover.

In poor weather, echidnas shelter under bushes or burrow into soil. Other shelter sites include hollow logs, rocks, caves, tree roots, grass tussocks, leaf litter and natural soil depressions.

• Inspect shelter features before clearing, including hollow logs, dense shrubs, rock piles, tree bases, termite mounds and loose soil.
• Keep people, vehicles and dogs away from any echidna found sheltering during works, and obtain direction from the project fauna handler before relocation or release.
• Do not remove an echidna from its natural surroundings unless this is undertaken under the relevant authorisation and fauna management procedure.

Sheltering habitat: Nursery shelters

Nursery burrows are built specifically for reproduction and are generally not the same as daily shelter sites. They are shallow, have a single entrance, may contain more than one chamber and are not lined with leaves or sticks.

Burrow reuse: Burrows from previous breeding seasons are almost never reused

Burrow lining: No lining or nesting material is used

Temperature function: A mother’s body heat can keep the nursery burrow at least 7°C above surrounding soil temperature

• Treat a plugged or recently disturbed shallow burrow as a potential nursery site, particularly from winter through the period when young are dependent.
• Use hand inspection and careful fauna-spotter procedures around likely shelters rather than relying only on a surface visual sweep.
• Protect surrounding ground cover because young may remain in the nursery while the mother forages elsewhere.

Threats: Clearing and construction

The main project risks are habitat loss, disturbance or destruction of shelters and nursery burrows, vehicle strike and attacks by domestic or introduced predators. The supplied documents do not provide species-specific evidence for disease, hydrology change or population effects from fire.

Habitat loss from land clearing and development is identified as a threat. Clearing can remove feeding areas, hollow logs, termite mounds, ground cover, burrows and other shelter features.

• Complete fauna searches before clearing and inspect soil, logs, termite mounds, dense vegetation, rocks and tree bases.
• Stage clearing where practicable so fauna can move into retained habitat, while avoiding driving animals towards roads, pets or active work areas.
• Retain connected vegetation and prey-bearing structures within and beside the work area where practicable.
• Use exclusion zones around active burrows, shelter sites and any female with dependent young until the authorised fauna professional confirms that works can proceed.

Threats: Roads and predators

Road mortality is described as very common. Feral dogs and foxes are identified as major threats, and young are also vulnerable to cats, pigs, snakes and large monitor lizards.

• Apply low-speed vehicle controls in areas of suitable echidna habitat and during periods when animals are active around roads.
• Keep domestic dogs away from work areas and retained habitat.
• Manage food waste and other attractants that may draw dogs, foxes or cats into the site.
• Give particular attention to nursery burrows, because young are more susceptible to predation than adults.

Threats: Fire, disease and hydrology

The supplied documents do not quantify the effects of fire, altered drainage, groundwater change or disease on Short-beaked Echidna populations. They do show that survival and longevity vary with rainfall and temperature, and list viral infections, pox-like conditions, flatworms, tapeworms, protozoal infections, fleas, ticks and mites as recorded health or parasite issues.

Weather-related survival: Average life span was shorter during periods of low rainfall and harsh temperatures in one study

Recorded health issues: Viral infections, pox-like conditions and several parasite groups are reported

Fire and hydrology effects: Not quantified in the supplied documents

• Avoid burning retained logs, dense ground cover or termite mounds without first assessing their use as echidna shelter and feeding habitat.
• Prevent avoidable changes to soil moisture, drainage and shelter conditions around retained habitat.
• Record sick, injured or dead echidnas and seek advice from the relevant wildlife authority or veterinarian rather than handling them unnecessarily.

Survey methodology: 1. Diurnal and crepuscular searches

Short-beaked Echidnas use open heathland, forests, woodlands, scrublands and grasslands, and shelter in vegetation, hollow logs, soil and other cover. Survey design should account for their low detectability, large home ranges and activity during cooler parts of the day.

Search retained habitat, project edges, access tracks and likely shelter sites during early morning and late evening, when Echidnas commonly feed and avoid extreme temperatures.

Walk slowly and inspect vegetation, hollow logs, soil cover, rock edges, termite mounds and other sheltered locations without disturbing animals.

Record live animals, diggings, tracks, scats, feeding holes, burrows and recent disturbance, noting the location and habitat feature for each observation.

Body length: 35 to 52 cm

Spine length: Up to 50 mm

Common activity periods: Early morning and late evening

• Repeat searches in suitable habitat across the survey period because an absence during one search does not demonstrate absence.
• Search during mild conditions where practicable, and record temperature, rainfall, wind, recent fire and ground conditions because these affect activity and shelter use.

Survey methodology: 2. Targeted habitat and sign inspection

Inspect hollow logs, rotten stumps, tree bases, rock overhangs, burrows, soil depressions, dense vegetation and termite mounds before machinery enters the area.

Give particular attention to sheltered ground features and areas with ants or termites, because Echidnas feed mainly on ants and termites and use sheltered sites in a range of habitats.

Map all retained and disturbance-prone shelter features so that they can be checked again immediately before clearing.

Main food: Ants and termites, with other invertebrates also eaten

Recorded shelter types: Hollow logs, tree roots, rock crevices, burrows, soil depressions, bushes and other ground cover

• Use a quiet, systematic search of each work area and its access routes rather than relying only on incidental observations.
• Do not open, excavate or dismantle a suspected shelter or nursery burrow during a search unless this is authorised under the fauna management plan and supervised by the fauna spotter catcher.

Survey methodology: 3. Supplementary detection and monitoring

Use remote cameras or other non-invasive detection methods where direct searches are limited by dense cover, large work areas or restricted access.

Use a repeatable layout and retain records of camera locations, deployment dates, active hours, photographs and search conditions.

Where the project is in arid or semi-arid country, consider incorporating Echidna records into vertebrate surveys already designed for those environments, as short-beaked Echidnas were detected during arid zone surveys.

• Do not treat a camera or sign survey as a substitute for a pre-clearance search immediately before disturbance.
• Seek advice from the relevant state or territory wildlife authority when a project needs a formal survey design or when the species is a listed matter in the project area.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

• Use the survey effort specified by the relevant state or territory survey guideline, approval condition and fauna management plan, because the supplied documents do not provide a species-specific number of nights, hours, trap nights, transect length or survey area for Short-beaked Echidnas.
• Record survey dates, start and finish times, observers, weather, search area, methods, habitat condition, effort, detections and the outcome of each targeted search.
• Submit confirmed records and material evidence to the relevant state or territory wildlife database and provide records required by the project approval.
• Report the species under the scientific name Tachyglossus aculeatus and retain photographs or other evidence with the project records.
• Do not use trapping as a default method for this species; any trapping or handling must be specifically justified, approved and undertaken by appropriately authorised personnel.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Plan the project around retained shelter, feeding habitat and movement routes. Short-beaked Echidnas wander over large home ranges, do not defend a territory and can be killed by vehicles, dogs and foxes.

Retain connected areas of heathland, forest, woodland, scrubland and grassland wherever practicable, particularly where they contain hollow logs, dense ground cover, rocks, tree roots, burrows or termite mounds.

Avoid unnecessary removal of logs, stumps, rocks, soil cover and other ground features that provide shelter or feeding opportunities.

Keep retained habitat connected to nearby suitable habitat so that animals can continue to move through the project area.

Home range behaviour: The species does not defend a territory and wanders over a large home range

Relevant habitat: Open heathland, forests, woodlands, scrublands and grasslands, including areas with hollow logs and ground shelter

• Design vehicle routes, compounds, stockpiles and laydown areas away from retained shelter features and known Echidna records.
• Do not clear more habitat than the approved footprint requires.
• Retain a buffer around occupied shelter or nursery sites where required by the approval, fauna management plan or advice from the relevant wildlife authority.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and timing

Check the EPBC Act requirements because the project profile identifies Short-beaked Echidna as nationally endangered.

Check the relevant state or territory listing, wildlife protection requirements, scientific permits and fauna handling authorities before works begin.

Plan clearing and high-noise or high-traffic activities outside the breeding season where practicable, noting that breeding generally occurs from June to September in Victoria and varies with latitude.

Breeding season reported for Victoria: June to September

Breeding variation: Timing varies with latitude and population

• Obtain any required approval before disturbing habitat, moving an animal or collecting biological material.
• Use a staged clearing program where practicable so that animals can move towards retained habitat before the next stage is opened.
• Include the relevant state or territory wildlife authority contact details, veterinary contact and authorised wildlife carer details in the fauna management plan.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

Complete a pre-clearance search of the approved work area, access routes and service corridors immediately before disturbance.

Mark retained logs, stumps, rocks, burrows, dense vegetation, tree-root shelters, termite mounds and other habitat features on plans and on the ground.

Fence or otherwise exclude machinery from retained habitat and occupied shelter sites where this can be done without trapping an animal.

• Brief all workers on the species profile, the no-go areas, vehicle speed limits, stop-work triggers and the process for reporting an animal.
• Inspect exclusion fencing daily for gaps, trapped animals and places where an Echidna could become confined.
• Keep dogs and other domestic animals out of the work area.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery coordination

Use a fauna spotter catcher who can direct machinery and stop work when an animal or occupied shelter is found. Echidnas are protected wildlife, and handling or relocation must follow the applicable authority and approval.

Complete a daily pre-start inspection of the work area, exclusion fencing, access tracks and retained habitat before machinery operates.

Have the fauna spotter catcher inspect the next clearing zone and communicate directly with the machine operator before each section is disturbed.

Clear vegetation and ground cover in short stages, with machinery moving slowly enough for the spotter catcher to see and respond to animals.

Set and enforce low vehicle speeds in bush areas, because road mortality is a recognised threat.

• Stop machinery immediately when the spotter catcher calls stop, identifies an animal, finds a suspected nursery burrow or cannot maintain a clear view of the work face.
• Do not allow machinery, workers, spoil or vehicles to enter marked no-go areas.
• Check freshly cleared ground, spoil piles and machinery operating areas for animals before the work crew leaves each day.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature handling

Leave hollow logs, rotten stumps, rocks, soil cover, tree-root shelters and termite mounds in place unless their removal is authorised and the spotter catcher has checked them.

Treat suspected nursery burrows as occupied until inspected and cleared under the approved fauna procedure.

If a habitat feature must be moved, stop work and follow the fauna management plan, using authorised personnel and a nearby retained location that provides comparable shelter.

• Do not pull apart a log, rock shelter or burrow by hand or machinery while an animal may be inside.
• Do not use fire, smoke, water, excavation or machinery to force an Echidna from shelter.
• Do not relocate an animal across roads, into unsuitable cleared ground or outside the approved relocation area.

During habitat disturbance: Animal encounters, injury and records

Keep workers and machinery back when an Echidna is found and allow the fauna spotter catcher to assess the animal without crowding it.

Do not pick up or move the animal unless the person is authorised and the action is permitted by the relevant state or territory requirements.

Where relocation is approved, move the animal only to nearby retained habitat identified in the fauna management plan and record the release location.

Send an injured animal promptly to a veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer, following the relevant wildlife authority procedure.

• Treat an Echidna that rolls into a ball or burrows into the ground as a live animal requiring a stop-work response.
• Stop work for an occupied burrow, injured animal, animal at risk from machinery or any breach of a fauna exclusion measure.
• Record the date, time, location, condition, action taken, handler, authority, release or treatment outcome and photographs where appropriate.
• Notify the environmental officer and relevant wildlife authority of any mortality, injury, unauthorised handling or repeated fauna management failure.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Close out each work area only after fauna controls and inspections are complete. Retain a clear record of animals, habitat features, incidents and corrective actions.

Inspect the cleared area, retained habitat boundary, spoil areas, trenches, pits, culverts and exclusion fencing after clearing and before the next construction stage.

Check that no animal has been isolated in a trench, behind fencing, under materials or within machinery storage areas.

Reinspect staged clearing areas after overnight works or significant changes to the work footprint.

• Keep trenches and pits covered, ramped or checked at the frequency required by the fauna management plan and approval.
• Remove or modify hazards that could trap an Echidna, including unsecured mesh, deep excavations and gaps beneath temporary fencing.
• Maintain no-go areas until the environmental officer confirms that the relevant work stage is complete.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Monitor retained habitat and nearby rehabilitation areas for Echidna sightings, feeding holes, tracks, shelter use and road mortality during construction and the required post-construction period.

Compare monitoring results with the approved success measures and investigate any decline in detections where monitoring is required.

Submit required fauna records, incident reports, rehabilitation results and database records to the approval holder, regulator and relevant state or territory wildlife database.

• Document all changes to the approved clearing footprint, habitat feature losses, relocations, injuries, deaths and corrective actions.
• Review the fauna management plan when monitoring identifies repeated encounters, failed exclusion controls or new occupied habitat.
• Retain survey data, photographs, spatial layers, permits and veterinary or wildlife carer records for the project record.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and residual impacts

Assess residual impacts against the EPBC Act approval, state or territory requirements and any project offset obligations.

Protect any offset or compensatory habitat from clearing, vehicle access, domestic animals and avoidable ground disturbance.

Link offset and retained habitat areas to suitable nearby habitat where this is required by the approval.

• Do not use an offset as a reason to remove avoidable Echidna habitat from the construction footprint.
• Record the location, tenure, protection mechanism and management commitments for any approved offset area.

Rehabilitation actions: Rebuild shelter and feeding habitat

Rehabilitation should restore connected ground cover, shelter and feeding habitat rather than only replacing canopy. Manage the site for ants, termites, safe movement and protection from the main recorded threats.

Replant locally appropriate native heathland, woodland, forest, scrubland and grassland species suited to the pre-disturbance vegetation community and site conditions.

Retain or reinstate sound hollow logs, rotten stumps, rocks, leaf litter, dense ground cover and suitable soil features in safe locations away from vehicle routes.

Restore termite and ant habitat by reducing unnecessary soil compaction, retaining natural ground cover and avoiding broad removal of dead wood.

• Use locally sourced native plants where required by the rehabilitation plan and protect new plantings from machinery and grazing.
• Do not place logs, rocks or spoil where they block movement corridors, create vehicle hazards or bury existing shelter.
• Provide connected strips of retained and rehabilitated habitat between work areas and larger nearby habitat patches.

Rehabilitation actions: Burrows, hollows and fire management

Retain natural burrows and ground shelters wherever practicable, and avoid grading or compacting areas identified as suitable for burrowing.

Do not install nest boxes as a substitute for natural Echidna habitat unless a qualified ecologist demonstrates a site-specific need and the design is approved.

Use fire planning that protects retained logs, ground cover, refuge areas and rehabilitation plantings, and consider the effect of planned burns on food and shelter resources.

• Keep fire management consistent with the relevant ecological fire plan, approval conditions and state or territory requirements.
• Inspect rehabilitation areas after fire, flood, erosion or extreme weather and repair lost shelter and ground cover where required.
• Prevent weeds from replacing native ground cover and shelter vegetation.

Rehabilitation actions: Predator and vehicle management

Control feral dogs and foxes in accordance with the approved pest management program, because both are identified threats to Echidnas and their young.

Keep domestic dogs out of retained habitat, rehabilitation areas and work compounds.

Maintain low vehicle speeds and wildlife warning controls on project roads through retained and rehabilitated habitat.

• Inspect roads for road-killed Echidnas and use the records to identify locations requiring additional speed, access or traffic controls.
• Review predator and vehicle controls when monitoring records repeated injuries, deaths or disturbance.
• Do not use poison or traps that could expose Echidnas to unacceptable risk.

Rehabilitation actions: Rehabilitation monitoring and success measures

Monitor plant survival, ground cover, shelter feature retention, weed cover, predator activity, road mortality and Echidna detections for the period specified in the approval or rehabilitation plan.

Use repeatable search areas and methods so that results can be compared between monitoring events.

Treat continued use of rehabilitated or retained habitat, stable shelter features, connected native ground cover and no project-related mortality as practical indicators of performance, where these measures are included in the approved plan.

• Replace failed plants and reinstate damaged logs, rocks or ground cover when monitoring identifies a rehabilitation shortfall.
• Record monitoring effort, weather, observers, locations, detections, photographs, maintenance actions and database submissions.
• Report whether the approved rehabilitation criteria were met and document any further management required.

Sources

• Indicator 1.2c: Representative species from a range of ..., Australian Government DCCEEW: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/1_2c_species_monitoring_2025.pdf
• National Dioxins Program, Australian Government DCCEEW: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/report-7.pdf
• Reproduction & Development, ielc.libguides.com: https://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/short-beaked-echidna/reproduction
• [PDF] Our Wildlife Fact Sheet, Victorian Government: https://www.wildlife.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/92441/Short-Beaked-Echidna.pdf