Expedition in Papua films very rare echidna

[JimW]

Lots of interesting stuff, only recorded by science once previously fifty years ago though locals obviously spotted it more regularly, and even has an amazing cultural role:

• The echidna has cultural significance for the people of Yongsu Sapari, who have lived on the northern slopes of the Cyclops Mountains for eighteen generations. When there is a conflict within the community, rather than fighting, there is a tradition that one party goes up into the Cyclops to search for an echidna while the other party goes to the ocean to find a marlin. Both creatures were so difficult to find that it would often take decades or a whole generation to locate them, but, once found, the animals symbolized the end of the conflict and a return to harmonious relationships in the village.

Found at last: Bizarre, egg-laying mammal finally rediscovered after 60 years

More than 60 years after it was last recorded, an expedition team has rediscovered an iconic, egg-laying mammal in one of the most unexplored regions of the world. Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, named after famed broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, was captured for the first time in photos...

phys.org