Sponsored in cooperation with the Earthwatch Institute

Kangaroo Island, South Australia

"Silent, solitary, and secretive, a spiny creature explores the woodland floor," writes Dr. Peggy Rismiller in "Enigma of the Echidna" (Earthwatch, Nov/Dec 1997). "Tapping its beak along the rocky ground, it suddenly stops and cocks its head. A moment later, the shoveling of soil and ripping of roots breaks the tranquil midday quiet. Halfway beneath a large limestone rock the creature pauses, then, using spines, head, and shoulders, it pops the rock loose of its earthly constraints. Subterranean dwellers scurry as their snug cover moves. One can hardly detect a rapid slurp-slurp-slurp as the 17-centimeter tongue darts down small tunnels and retrieves the ants, beetles, worms, insects, and other invertebrates. As quickly as the digging began, the beaked gnome backs out of the hole, blinks the dirt from its eyes, and soundlessly disappears into dense under story. With that, the oldest and one of the strangest and least-known mammals on Earth slips back into its peculiar obscurity."

Rismiller, a biologist at the University of Adelaide, needs your energetic help to pull back the veil on that obscurity. Since Earthwatch teams began working with her in 1991, she and researcher Mike McKelvey have found, marked, and studied more than 70 individual echidnas on this enchanted island. Their dedicated work has shown that echidnas, one of the world’s oldest surviving mammals with a history stretching back 120 million years, can teach us much about living sustainably: Echidnas never allow themselves to overpopulate or overharvest an area. While digging for prey, they till the soil in a way that promotes the growth of plants and the insects they eat. Finally, they have a lower body temperature and metabolism than any other mammal, which may have helped them survive environmental change through history. The findings of Rismiller’s teams have greatly increased biologists’ understanding of the ecology and behavior of this egg-laying mammal and have led to its reclassification on the IUCN Red Data List as "near threatened." But much more data, and the inspired efforts of volunteers, are needed to fully understand and protect the echidna and its habitat.

Under the expert direction of Rismiller, you will find, track, observe, map, and monitor echidnas and their only natural predator, Rosenberg’s goanna, a large monitor lizard. Your unflagging efforts will help define the impact of natural and introduced predators on echidna populations. You will record how echidnas, goannas, and feral cats interact and live in the same ecosystem. You’ll be working on Kangaroo Island, an isolated island ark boasting many species that are rare on the Australian mainland, including 70 orchid species, tammar wallabies, pygmy possums, sea lions, kangaroos, and 130 species of birds. Echidnas are the icing on this exotic island cake.

You’ll rise by dawn, then strap on your rucksack packed with binoculars, camera, and compass, and set off into the bush to find echidnas and goannas. You’ll weigh, sex, code, and fit tiny transmitters to both echidnas and goannas, then radio-track and follow previously tagged individuals. Carefully mapping where they go, you’ll pick up food samples and scat for diet analysis. Depending on the time of year and the activities of your subjects, you may take your lunch with you or return to base to rotate duties with a teammate. You’re back at home base by night fall. After-dinner strolls or nighttime monitoring under bright southern constellations will leave you refreshed for another exciting day in the field.

• 1 9 9 9 and 2 0 0 0 . T E A M S

• II: Jun 26-Jul 9 • III: Jul 24-Aug 6 • IV: Sep 18-Oct 1 • V: Oct 23-Nov 5 • Teams for 2000, call for details • Max team size: 8

• M E M B E R S ' . S H A R E . O F . C O S T S
from US $1,695 • £990 • Aus $2,295 • Yen ¥198,900

• R E N D E Z V O U S . S I T E
Emu Airways Terminal, Adelaide Airport, Australia

• F I E L D . C O N D I T I O N S
You’ll be based at the Pelican Lagoon Research Centre, an internationally recognized model for sustainable field research and living. At this solar-powered facility, you’ll stay in small cabins, tents with beds, or out under the stars. There are toilets, wood- or solar-heated showers, and a bush sauna for added reward on winter teams. A large common area serves as lab, conference room, and dining hall. Enjoy your team’s favorite recipes when you share cooking and clean-up responsibilities.