- I'm Mark Vins, and right now we are in the outback
of Western Australia looking for a truly bizarre creature,
and it's covered in razor sharp spines.
Let's just say catching this one,
it's gonna hurt a little bit.
This creature is just as shy as it is sharp.
So first we have to track one down in this huge forest,
which also happens to be home to another one
of the rarest and most endangered animals on the planet
that we're also trying to find by the end of this video.
But in order to catch this giant spike ball,
we're going to need to look for clues.
(upbeat adventurous music)
Oh yeah, right there.
Check that out.
This is a termite nest.
This will be a perfect feast
for the creature that we're after today.
That tells me we are on the right track.
Let's keep searching.
Our second clue is that these creatures love to hide
near trees and stumps.
So that's where we're spending the most time looking.
The problem is this forest is full of hiding places.
This is like looking for a needle,
or a big pile of needles in a giant haystack.
After hours of searching, we got lucky
with the discovery of a final clue.
That is a good sign right there.
That's some poop from the creature we're after.
You can see all the ants and termites in here.
That means we're getting close.
(suspenseful music)
Oh, right there.
That's an echidna!
Look at that!
Ho ho!
Yes!
That is what we have been looking for all morning long.
That is Australia's spikiest creature, the echidna.
And it is, yeah.
Wow, that is sharp!
Okay, the echidna from the top is a tank
riddled with spikes and a super tough skin.
But underneath the echidna is a soft belly.
And I'm gonna try to work my hand underneath this animal
so I can present it to you.
This is probably going to be a challenge.
Let's see if I can get my hand underneath.
Ready?
(suspenseful music)
Ah, come here, buddy.
It's okay.
And he is just wriggling in there.
Ah, ah!
His spike, ah, he's getting me.
Mm.
Now, unlike a porcupine, their spines can't release,
but they are super sharp, nonetheless.
Ow, okay.
Okay, he's really wedged in there, guys.
This is gonna be tough.
Ah, mm, yeah, I'm getting nailed.
Alright.
I'm gonna have to use some gloves here.
There's no way I'm gonna be able to pry out this echidna.
It is basically cuffing up its body
using its spikes to wedge itself
into this stump of the tree.
Alright, here we go.
Luckily, I always carry a good pair of gloves with me
on every adventure.
I want to get to the underside of the echidna
that is much softer,
and that should allow me to hold it for the scene.
But I'm gonna have to do this really carefully.
I'm trying to work under all of the different spines.
There we go.
Uh huh, okay.
Now, these spines are nothing more than modified hair.
So, this isn't hurting the echidna at all.
It's only hurting me.
Ah, ah, you're sharp.
Ow!
Poked right through the glove.
Okay, I got the other side.
Got the other side.
This is good.
Okay, I think I feel his foot, ow!
Oh gosh, you are really, ah, I'm getting spined so bad.
Okay, alright.
I'm underneath him.
I'm underneath it.
This is good.
Under the underbelly, so much easier to contend with.
Alright, ready?
Got 'em, got it.
I've got the echidna.
We got one, guys.
That is the echidna.
Hello!
Alright, let's go this way.
I see an opening over here.
This will be perfect.
So I think for the echidna to be most comfortable
it's gonna mean a little discomfort for me.
I'm gonna attempt to take my gloves off to do this scene,
not only in hopes that the kid will be more comfortable
and will show us that beak,
but also as to show everyone why
you should never pick up an echidna.
Oh boy.
(suspenseful music)
Hello. (laughs)
This animal likes to hide
by wedging against the nearest object.
In this case, it's my foot.
You gotta get to the soft belly part.
Ah! (laughs)
(suspenseful music)
You're so sharp, I can't.
Come here.
Ah, ah, ah!
Every time I try to pick him up,
his spikes break under the skin of my fingernails.
Come on, come on, come on, Knuckles.
Anybody who is a fan of
the "Sonic The Hedgehog" video game
definitely knows Knuckles the echidna.
And you are tough as nails, Knuckles.
Ah!
Yeah!
Hey, buddy, I'm gonna put you on my knee, if that's okay.
It's going through my pants.
Ah, ah, Knuckles!
Oh my gosh, it's so sharp!
Okay, hi.
You are the spikiest creature I have ever held
with my bare hands.
Oh my goodness.
Okay, this animal from the top side
is almost bulletproof from any predator.
Not only does it have these sharp spines,
but the top hide is very tough.
Now, on the underside of the echidna,
ah, ah,
on the underside of the echidna,
there's a very soft underbelly along with its face.
Hopefully this echidna will get
comfortable enough with me today
to show it's little face, because it is super adorable.
I'm trying to make it as comfortable as I can.
As discomforting as it is for me,
I wanna show you that adorable little beak,
the face of the echidna.
Come on.
I'm just gonna hold it here and try to be silent.
Try to be silent.
Ah, oh my gosh.
He's poking his nose at me.
Come on, come out, say hi.
Ah! (breathing heavily)
Oh, I think we're gonna have an appearance
of the echidna beak.
Hi, hello.
Come say hi.
(gentle music)
Oh, I can see the eyeball.
Come say hi.
Ah, no, no.
No, nope, that's a no.
Door slammed.
There we go.
Get a shot.
Show us your cute little mug.
Ah.
Try to be quiet.
Fight through the pain,
'cause I want you to see the face of the echidna.
Come out.
Come out and show us the face.
Ah, ah.
Here goes, here goes, here goes.
Can you see it?
(suspenseful music)
(Mark grunting)
- [Cameraman] Oh, there's the snout.
- Guys, get the shot.
Get the shot.
Ah, ah, ah, ah.
(Mark breathing heavily)
Hi, how are you?
I am not doing good.
I hope you're doing well, though.
Alright, guys.
That is the beak of the echidna,
and that has been very painful to get on camera.
Ah!
You little spike ball.
Ah, ah! (breathing heavily)
Okay, okay.
So you can see the boogery nose there.
These animals just recently were discovered
to be able to regulate their body heat
by blowing snot bubbles on their nose.
Oh man, okay.
Whew.
Just gotta work through the pain a little bit.
So an echidna feasts on a diet
made up completely of ants and termites.
In fact, this animal also has some of the best hearing
of any animal in Australia.
And it's so sophisticated they can actually hear
the termites and the ants crawling underground,
which is why we have to be so quiet.
Ah, it's so sharp, it is so sharp.
And now, compared to the hedgehog,
an echidna weighs a lot more.
I would say this echidna is in excess of 10 pounds.
And just the weight alone, oh, makes it super sharp.
And its spines, ah, its spines are so sharp, guys.
Okay.
Ah.
Now, get a shot of that foot.
You'll notice that it's actually backwards.
That is a very unusual trait.
A lot of times when people are tracking echidnas,
they will actually follow them (film rewinding)
the opposite direction because
of the fact that those hind feet are flipped
in the opposite direction.
These animals have long claws on the back of their feet
that are primed for digging,
and the echinda has the ability to dig in.
And a lot of times when you see these in the environment,
they are literally just a ball of spikes.
In fact, the only predator that really targets the echidna
here in Australia is the feral invasive fox.
They'll actually pee on the back of these animals
and get them to flip over to expose that soft underbelly.
From the top, the echidna is almost bulletproof.
From underneath, they're a little teddy bear,
and that's why it curls up into a ball, just like this.
Alright, look at that face.
(suspenseful music)
Ow!
You hurt me.
You hurt me so, ah!
Okay, okay, I'll put him down.
Put him down.
(Mark breathing heavily)
Ah, ah!
Definitely drew some blood.
That is like wildlife acupuncture.
I do not recommend it.
It's time to put our echidna back where we found it.
And honestly, I'm not sure who's happy about this,
me or the echidna.
My hands are on fire right now, ouch.
With the echidna safely back in its tree
and my hands throbbing in pain,
it's now time to track down
one of the rarest animals on the planet, the numbat.
One of the last living relatives
of the now extinct Tasmanian tiger.
Most of the remaining numbats in the world
live in Dryandra National Park.
But Dryandra is completely surrounded by farmland,
trapping the numbats inside.
This forest is really the last place we can find them.
Spotting one is going to be really challenging
because they blend into the landscape perfectly.
Luckily, just like the echidna, numbats feed on termites,
so we know we're on the right trail.
We searched the forest really hard for over six hours
without a sign of anything.
It was a ghost town.
But just when I was thinking about giving up for the day,
I noticed something furry running through the bushes.
Oh my gosh.
That's him.
(upbeat suspenseful music)
Oh my God.
There he is.
I found one.
I got him.
I'm filming a numbat, he's looking right at me.
Ah, I can't believe it.
Wow.
This is one of the last numbats on the planet.
Numbats are a critically endangered species
with less than 1,000 left in the wild.
Places like Dryandra National Park in Australia
are so important in protecting species like this
from going extinct.
And that's why it's important
that this forest remains standing.
This has to be one of the rarest animals I've ever filmed.
What's he doing now?
What's he doing?
No, is he trying to crawl inside?
No way.
(gentle bouncy music) Never gonna fit.
(Mark laughs)
Look at these little legs go.
He can barely fit.
Is he gonna make it?
Oh, oh. (laughs)
And there he goes.
Gosh, that was awesome.
Do you have any rare and endangered animals
that live near you?
Tell us about them in the comments below,
and what ideas you have to save them.
Who knows, maybe we'll come out and
film an adventure with you. (animal roars)