The Reason Australian Hedgehogs Blow Bubbles

Australian researchers used thermal vision techniques to study how echidnas manage an increasingly hot environment. Thermal vision captures varying levels of infrared radiation, which is invisible to the naked eye and informs temperature differences on observed surfaces. 

The research study, “Postural, pilo-erective and evaporative thermal windows of the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)” by Cooper and Withers (2023), shows how thermal vision advances can aid in non-contact studies of animals in their natural environment. 

Echidnas are one of two mammal species that lay eggs in Australia, so researchers study them in an effort to understand early mammal biology. Echidnas do not pant, sweat, or lick as other animals do to cool down, raising questions about just how they survive in hot environments.

The study noted several interesting cooling techniques, finding that spineless areas on legs and bellies allow heat exchanges. Another heat exchange site is the nose. Echidnas blow bubbles from their nose, which burst on the tip and acts as evaporative cooling, much like how cooling misters work for us during warm months. The mammals are also excellent swimmers, and Peggy Rismiller, an echidna expert, suggests that, much like us, they may take a dip to cool off on a hot day.

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