I'm pretending I'm not here

When I first saw the Echidna it was out in the open, snuffling along, eating ants. As soon as it heard me approaching it headed for the long grass nearby and squatted. If I hadn't seen it move into the grass I would never had picked it out because the light tips to the spines on its dark back are perfectly coloured to blend in, especially in summer.

I moved up close and decided to wait it out, thinking I'd get a better photo when it moved out into the open again. The short beak occasionally came up to sniff the air. If I made the slightest noise the shoulders hunched, causing the spines to sit more upright.

In the end I gave up. It had more patience than I have. When I came back past the spot half an hour later it had gone. They have a very large territory (possibly 60 hectares) so I wasn't about to go looking.