Year 3 Reading Comprehension: The Echidna
The Echidna: Australia's Spiky Survivor
The echidna is one of Australia's most unusual animals. It is covered in sharp spines, which are actually thick, stiff hairs made of keratin — the same material as your fingernails. Between the spines, the echidna has a coat of coarse brown or black fur to keep it warm. Its snout is long and leathery, and it has tiny eyes and no visible ears. Despite looking a little like a hedgehog, the echidna is not related to hedgehogs at all.
Echidnas are found all over Australia, from tropical rainforests to dry deserts and even snowy mountains. They are very adaptable animals, which means they can survive in many different environments. They shelter in hollow logs, under rocks, or in dense bushes. Echidnas do not have a permanent home — they wander through their territory and rest wherever they find a safe spot.
One of the most remarkable things about echidnas is the way they eat. They have no teeth at all! Instead, they use their long, sticky tongue to slurp up ants, termites, worms, and grubs from the soil. Their powerful front claws are perfect for digging into ant mounds and rotten logs to find food. An echidna's tongue can flick in and out up to 100 times per minute.
When danger is near, the echidna has a clever way of protecting itself. It curls into a tight ball, tucking its soft belly underneath and pointing all its sharp spines outward. If the ground is soft, it may dig straight down so that only a dome of spines is visible above the surface. Most predators find it very difficult to attack an animal that looks like a spiky rock.
Echidnas belong to a very special group of mammals called monotremes. Unlike most mammals, monotremes lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. A mother echidna lays a single leathery egg directly into a small pouch on her belly. After about ten days, a tiny baby — called a puggle — hatches out. The puggle stays in the pouch, drinking its mother's milk, until its spines begin to grow and it is ready to explore the world.
Comprehension Questions
- 1.
What are echidna spines made of, and what else is made of the same material?
(2 marks) - 2.
Where can echidnas be found in Australia?
- A.Only in tropical rainforests near the coast
- B.In many environments, including rainforests, deserts, and snowy mountains
- C.Only in dry deserts in central Australia
- D.Only in forests in the south of Australia
- 3.
Explain in your own words how an echidna finds and eats its food.
(2 marks) - 4.
A baby echidna is called a __________, and it hatches from a leathery egg after about ten days.
- 5.
What does the word 'adaptable' mean in the passage?
- A.Able to survive in many different environments
- B.Very large and strong
- C.Difficult to find in the wild
- D.Covered in protective spines
- 6.
The passage says echidnas do not have a permanent home. What does this tell you about how they live?
(2 marks) - 7.
Describe TWO ways an echidna defends itself from predators when it feels threatened.
(2 marks) - 8.
True or False: Echidnas are closely related to hedgehogs because they both have spines. [ T / F ]
- 9.
Why do you think the author compares an echidna curled up to 'a spiky rock'? What does this comparison help you understand?
(2 marks) - 10.
Do you think the echidna is well suited to living in Australia? Use TWO pieces of evidence from the passage to support your answer.
(3 marks)
Answer Key
Comprehension Questions
- 1.
Echidna spines are made of keratin, the same material as human fingernails.
- 2.
B. In many environments, including rainforests, deserts, and snowy mountains
- 3.
The echidna uses its strong claws to dig into ant mounds and rotten logs, then uses its long sticky tongue to slurp up ants, termites, worms, and grubs.
- 4.
puggle
- 5.
A. Able to survive in many different environments
- 6.
It tells us that echidnas do not stay in one fixed place. They move around their territory and rest in different spots each time, such as under rocks or in hollow logs.
- 7.
It curls into a tight ball with its spines pointing outward, and it can also dig into soft ground so only a dome of spines is visible above the surface.
- 8.
False
- 9.
The comparison helps the reader picture how hard it would be for a predator to attack the echidna. A spiky rock looks solid and painful to touch, just like a curled-up echidna with all its spines pointing out.
- 10.
Yes. Students should draw on two details, such as: echidnas can live in many environments (adaptable); they have powerful claws suited to digging in Australian soils; their defence against predators makes them hard to attack; they can find food (ants, termites) that are common in Australia.