Keith Aubry
Pacific Northwest Research Station
One of my most interesting and exciting science experiences occurred last winter when I traveled around the island of Tasmania (which is part of Australia). This was my first opportunity to experience the diversity of marsupials (pouched mammals) and monotremes (egg-laying mammals) that occur in the Australian region. I saw and photographed a Tasmanian devil, ringtail and brushtail possums, a Bennett’s wallaby (a small kangaroo), and a wombat (a chunky, herbivorous marsupial). I also learned all about the extinct Tasmanian tiger. One of my most memorable experiences was watching an echidna (one of only two egg laying mammals in the world) hunt for bugs in decaying leaves and under rotting logs. The echidna (also called a spiny anteater) looks like a slightly deflated soccer ball that is covered with poisonous spines!