Took the kids for a small game hunt over the weekend. Kids were pretty good and quite as we walked around the bush. To the point we ended up walking into a porcupine and the kids followed it as it walked away.

Nice to see kids in the outdoors instead of glued to some electronic device!

Pumpkinslinger wrote:

Nice to see kids in the outdoors instead of glued to some electronic device!

Have to agree with that mate. Last weekend I came upon an Echidna…sorta like an Aussie porcupine.

Kids out n about is ALWAYS the right/good thing.

Vince wrote:

Last weekend I came upon an Echidna…sorta like an Aussie porcupine.

Egg laying mammals for some reason kinda weird me out. Are they edible?

Dimitri wrote:

Vince wrote: Last weekend I came upon an Echidna…sorta like an Aussie porcupine. Egg laying mammals for some reason kinda weird me out. Are they edible?

Not sure I’d like to try eating one mate, but it’s moot anyway because they are a protected species here in Australia.

There is no closed season or limits for porcupine here. I still won't shoot because I am not sure if I want to eat one.

Porcupine's are pretty cool critters. I'd never kill one. Adolescents will sometimes let you pet them. If you've ever heard a baby Porcupine cry... its un-nerving. They sound just like a human baby.

-DallanC

For some reason I’ve always thought porcupine to be pretty aggressive buggers that need to be avoided at all costs lest you get spiked.

Echidna are not aggressive in the least…they will just hunker down in a ball if they feel threatened.

It seemed pretty laid back and non-threatening. It seemed more interested in slowly walking away then facing us.

Apparently they can't run, pregnancy lasts over 6 months to produce one offspring, they can live for 30 years and apparently are attracted to anything salty including worn work gloves and plywood.

After reading about them, I am inclined to agree with Dallan, I'll probably never kill one.

I took the kids out again this weekend, they are learning to observe nature in detail. Like finding animal tracks, animal scat, and being able to identify wildlife "modifications" to the environment, like woodpecker holes in trees.

Some highlights of this weekend's trip.

My daughter decided she wanted sheets of birch bark for use as writing paper.



They found what I believe is an edible mushroom. But I know little about wild mushrooms.



Also a nest on a branch on the ground.



Not a bad little trip. They had fun and are asking to go back this coming weekend. I wish.