The echidna eats ants and termites and is also known as the spiny anteater or in Jirrbal, as nyargin. When I travel around the Cairns hinterland, I am amazed by the number of anthills I see. This interesting little creature is related to the platypus and has found its way onto the back of Australia’s five-cent coin. The echidna is an egg-laying mammal and has a long and slim snout, which acts as a nose and a mouth. This fascinating bundle of spikes has a tiny mouth, toothless jaws and a sticky tongue to gather its prey. Some Aboriginal people used the spikes of the echidna as barbs for spears.