Echidnas are super cool!
This spiky mammal lays eggs. There are five monotremes – four of them are echidnas, and the other mammal is the fascinating platypus. Echidnas have hard, flat eyes, and the claws on their hind limbs curve backwards to help them dig burrows.
Yet, their snout, sometimes called a beak, is perhaps the most amazing thing.
Echidnas are electroreceptive!
This most fascinating creature has many electroreceptor cells in its snout. These are like little tracking cells that help echidnas follow the movements their prey make when they move. Their sniffs can detect even the tiniest muscle movements so that the echidna can capture their prey with razor accuracy.
Nearly all animals that can detect electric current are living in water, for example, sharks, rays, catfish and axolotls. Echidnas get all their food on land, so it is a bit of a mystery why they have electroreceptors. Echidnas may detect the electric currents produced by ants and termites in wet and moist soil. But ants and termites try to avoid wet soil, so echidnas might not catch a lot of food if they rely on their electroreceptor cells. Echidnas belong to the family Tachyglossidae, and their only living relative is the platypus. Some researchers have suggested that echidnas evolved from platypuses. Platypuses also have electroreceptors, but they have many more electroreceptors compared to echidnas- 40,000 compared to 400. Platypuses spend most of their time in the water.
Why not make some great drawings of this amazing creature while you are pondering over how you can use what you know to invent the most fantastic sniff detector or . . .
Frequently Asked Questions
What is biomimicry?
Biomimicry is the practice of looking to nature for solutions, then applying what we learn to design and problem-solving. Instead of inventing from scratch, it means studying how plants, animals, and ecosystems have already solved a challenge — like staying cool, collecting water, or absorbing carbon — and adapting that strategy for human use.
How does biomimicry help address climate change?
Nature has been adapting to extreme conditions for billions of years, so many organisms already hold working solutions to problems we now face at a larger scale — cooling buildings without electricity (termite mounds), collecting water in drought (the Namib beetle), protecting coastlines from storms (mangrove roots), and capturing carbon (corals, forests, kelp). Biomimicry means studying those solutions and applying the same principles to human design.
How can children get involved in biomimicry?
Children don’t need special training to think like a biomimicrist — just curiosity and a habit of asking “how does nature solve this?” Simple ways to start include a backyard scavenger hunt for nature’s patterns, a “design-an-animal” challenge for a changing climate, or building a small model (like a passive-cooling structure or a water collector) inspired by something they’ve observed outdoors.
Is biomimicry only for scientists and engineers?
No — biomimicry is as much a mindset as a profession. Anyone can practice it by observing nature closely and asking design questions. Professional biomimicry practitioners apply it in architecture, materials science, and engineering, but the same core skill — careful observation followed by “what if we built it that way?” — is exactly what this post’s classroom and family activities are designed to build in children.
Åsa Jomård
In 2015, Åsa completed a course in Biomimicry: A Sustainable Design Methodology at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. With over 10 years of experience exploring nature for inspiration and as a former member of Ben, Biomimicry Education Network, she brings both academic background and creative teaching experience to her work. Her materials seamlessly integrate stories, nature observations, and design challenges, making them perfect for inquiry-led learning in early primary contexts.
AI was used as a Thinking Partner.