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The Enigmatic Echidna: Secrets of the World's Most Curious Creature
Discover the captivating world of the echidna
There are few animals more unusual than the echidna – a spiky, egg-laying mammal that eats ants. But some of the most striking things about echidnas are things most of us don't know. That they use their snout like a snorkel when they swim, that they can sense electromagnetic fields, that they have intriguingly complex brains, startling physical strength and 'backwards' back feet. That they go into torpor when conditions are poor and can survive fires by sheltering underground. And that during the mating season, male echidnas will line up behind a female, making cooing noises and forming an orderly echidna train, waiting for their chance to impress her with some very strange reproductive equipment!
In The Enigmatic Echidna, biologist and award-winning author Danielle Clode follows the echidna on its eclectic path through the Australian landscape. Equal parts surprising, amusing and enlightening, it is an irresistible journey into their unique and beautiful world.
'A new book from Danielle Clode is always a treat, and The Enigmatic Echidna is no exception. I learnt so much when reading this book, including the fact that echidnas' intelligence, like everything else about them, is unique. Clode's stories about echidnas seem to amble out of the datasets, archives, history books and Country straight onto the page. Most moving of all is the way Clode conveys the fact that even to spy one of these remarkable animals in the wild is a blessing.' —Sophie Cunningham
'The Enigmatic Echidna asks us to look past the assumption that its subject is no more than an evolutionary curio to reveal an animal rich in cultural and scientific significance. Written with rigour and expansive curiosity, it contains multitudes.' —James Bradley
There are few animals more unusual than the echidna – a spiky, egg-laying mammal that eats ants. But some of the most striking things about echidnas are things most of us don't know. That they use their snout like a snorkel when they swim, that they can sense electromagnetic fields, that they have intriguingly complex brains, startling physical strength and 'backwards' back feet. That they go into torpor when conditions are poor and can survive fires by sheltering underground. And that during the mating season, male echidnas will line up behind a female, making cooing noises and forming an orderly echidna train, waiting for their chance to impress her with some very strange reproductive equipment!
In The Enigmatic Echidna, biologist and award-winning author Danielle Clode follows the echidna on its eclectic path through the Australian landscape. Equal parts surprising, amusing and enlightening, it is an irresistible journey into their unique and beautiful world.
'A new book from Danielle Clode is always a treat, and The Enigmatic Echidna is no exception. I learnt so much when reading this book, including the fact that echidnas' intelligence, like everything else about them, is unique. Clode's stories about echidnas seem to amble out of the datasets, archives, history books and Country straight onto the page. Most moving of all is the way Clode conveys the fact that even to spy one of these remarkable animals in the wild is a blessing.' —Sophie Cunningham
'The Enigmatic Echidna asks us to look past the assumption that its subject is no more than an evolutionary curio to reveal an animal rich in cultural and scientific significance. Written with rigour and expansive curiosity, it contains multitudes.' —James Bradley
- GenresNonfictionNature
310 pages, Paperback
First published May 5, 2026
About the author
Danielle Clode
13 books70 followersDanielle is the author of several narrative non-fiction books including Voyages to the South Seas, which won the Victorian Premier's Literary Prize for nonfiction in 2007 and The Wasp and the Orchid which was shortlisted for the National Biography Award in 2018. She has also written books on Australian palaeontology, killer whales, bushfires and museums as well as publishing essays and academic papers.
Her latest book, Koala, was published internationally in Australia by Black Inc and in the US/UK by WW Norton. It won a Whitley Award for Popular Ecology.
Danielle grew up on a boat and studied zoology at university, giving her an abiding interest in natural history and the environment, which is apparent in all her writing.
Her latest book, Koala, was published internationally in Australia by Black Inc and in the US/UK by WW Norton. It won a Whitley Award for Popular Ecology.
Danielle grew up on a boat and studied zoology at university, giving her an abiding interest in natural history and the environment, which is apparent in all her writing.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 26, 2026
The Enigmatic Echidna is a delightful and deeply fascinating exploration of one of the world’s most unusual mammals. Danielle Clode combines scientific rigor with humor, curiosity, and vivid storytelling to reveal the echidna as far more than an evolutionary oddity it emerges as an intelligent, resilient, and ecologically remarkable creature. Rich with surprising details and grounded in a genuine sense of wonder, the book is both enlightening and irresistibly engaging for anyone who loves nature writing and wildlife science.
May 24, 2026
An excellent read.
Review of advance copy
An excellent read! Reviewed for Books+Publishing magazine.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews