Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Matilda the echidna beats crippling ant allergy - with a little help from science
Vets develop vaccine after first known record of an echidna being allergic to their core food source
Calla Wahlquist
@callapilla
Mon 1 Oct 2018 22.51 EDT Last modified on Mon 1 Oct 2018 23.54 EDT
Matilda is an unusual echidna. She is curious where her peers are shy, and gregarious where they are solitary. She is also allergic to ants.
For a species also known as the spiny anteater, that is a significant problem. It is the first known record of an echidna being allergic to their core food source.
Keepers at Victoria’s Healesville Sanctuary noticed something was wrong when Matilda, who came to the sanctuary as a three-month-old 700g puggle in 2010, was weaned off milk on to an adult diet of ants and termites. The symptoms became pronounced when she was two years old.
“She became really puffy and red around both of her eyes, there was a lot of discharge coming from her eyes, and it also affected her belly,” Healesville Sanctuary vet Claire Madden told Guardian Australia. “She lost a lot of hair and also the skin on her belly was really raw.”
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/oct/02/matilda-the-echidna-beats-crippling-ant-allergy-with-a-little-help-from-science