It’s not every day you see an Echidna waltz into a real estate office, but Olinda’s Fletchers staff in their office in the Yarra Ranges have seen exactly that.
A spiky monotreme with an agenda popped in, possibly to check the house listings for sale in its local area this week, with staff quite tickled by the visit.
“Look who waddled into our Olinda office today!” read Fletcher’s social media on 26 November.
“Sadly, we’re all sold out of echidna-sized real estate… but our prickly little friend is welcome to pop by for inspections any time!”
A picture showing the unflappable visitor waddling back out of the office has captured the hearts of many echidna enthusiasts across the region.
Usually known for being quite shy, the short-beaked echidna paid staff a visit in their Olinda office, investigating the room, sunning itself on the deck for a while and then heading back out into the sunny day.
Echidnas can grow up to 40 centimetres long and seven kilograms in weight, but most are between two and five kilograms.
With a very keen sense of smell, useful for locating mates, detecting danger and snuffling for food, seeing echidnas out and about is always a joy.
Community can admire from a distance and let the animals be, as they have an internal GPS, and it’s not advisable to move them unless they are in immediate danger.
If the animal looks unwell, the community can call local wildlife carers for assistance and in summer, you can leave a small shallow dish of water out in your yard.
Usually found in open heathland, forests, woodlands, scrublands and grasslands, among vegetation or in hollow logs, echidnas are known to shelter in poor weather under bushes or burrow into the soil.
You will most likely see them during early morning or late evening, as they avoid extreme temperatures and wander over their large home range.
Echidnas’ main threats in nature are feral dogs and foxes, and they are also affected by habitat loss from land clearing and development.
A frequent casualty on local roads in the Yarra Ranges, residents can try to take care when driving in bush areas and keep an eye out for echidnas and other wildlife to keep our wildlife safe.
It is illegal to pick up or move an echidna from its natural surroundings, and while sometimes they can make their way into backyards, a real estate office may be some kind of first!
An advice sheet from Wildlife Victoria states that if you happen to have an echidna wander through your yard, let it be and move on in its own time.
“It is likely that the backyard is next to a habitat where the echidna belongs.”
People can also report any suspected illegal activity relating to Echidnas to the DELWP Customer Contact Centre on 136 186.
All wildlife is protected in Victoria, and people can visit the DELWP website for more information regarding protected wildlife www.wildlife.vic.gov.au
As to why Olinda Echidna was visiting their local realtors? That might have to stay a mystery!
