Long-beaked Echidna

Weight:
The female long-beaked echidna weighs 7.4 - 9.8 kg (average 8.6 kg; N = 2) (16 - 22 lb (average 19 lb)); males weigh 5.9 - 8.0 kg (average 7 kg; N = 8) (13 - 17 lb (average 15 lb)); and animals with undetermined sex have weighed 10 - 16.5 kg (average 13.3 kg; N = 4) (22 - 36 lb (average 29 lb)). 

Habitat:
The long-beaked echidna has been reported from a wide variety of altitudes, including locations at sea level, in rainforest at 600 m (1970'), and at 4150 m (13,600'), where the area is comprised principally of alpine meadows.

It occurs in the Maoke Range Alpine Heathlands and the New Guinea Montane Forests Global 200 Ecoregions. (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999) 

Birth Season:
Reproductively active animals have been caught in July. 

Birth Rate:
A female long-beaked echidna usually lays 1 egg into its pouch. 

Early Development:
The eggs of the long-beaked echidna are soft-shelled and hatch after 10 days, whereupon the young remain in a pouch, dependent on the mother's milk for about 6 months. 

Maximum Age:
At least 31 years (captivity). 

Diet:
The long-beaked echidna is insectivorous. Its diet consists almost exclusively of earthworms. Termites and other worms are also eaten. 

Behavior:
The long-beaked echidna is primarily nocturnal. It forages on the forest floor and is a powerful digger. In southern Chimbu, local people say that the long-beaked echidna digs short, shallow burrows with no nesting material inside. (Flannery 1995) 

Social Organization:
The long-beaked echidna apparently is solitary. 

Density/Range:
1.6 individuals/sq km (4.2 individuals/sq mi) of suitable habitat (data tabulated in 1982) (Cross 1997)