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Busch Gardens welcomes rare baby echidna

Published  July 28, 2020 5:24am EDT
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
FOX 13 News

Rare echidna born at Busch Gardens

The Tampa theme park recently welcomed a baby echidna to the park, which is a rare sight to see in the U.S. It was the size of a jelly bean when it was born.

TAMPA, Fla. - There's a new arrival at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, and the park is one of the very few places in the U.S. where visitors can see it. For the first time, the theme park has welcomed an echidna.

The baby is known as a "puggle," and is rare because of the species unusual reproduction process. Echidnas are mammals that lay eggs.

Busch Gardens officials named it "Sydney." When it hatched, it was only the size of a jelly bean.

(Busch Gardens Tampa Bay)

The echidna is an Australian relative of the platypus. As of Monday, 7-month-old Sydney weighs about two pounds.

The little puggle spends its day eating and roaming around its habitat at the Animals Connections.

(Busch Gardens Tampa Bay)

(Busch Gardens Tampa Bay)