Baby Echidna Makes a Recovery at Australian Zoo

— -- A baby echidna, after being seriously injured when a bulldozer dug up its burrow, is making an impressive recovery, according to the Taronga Zoo in Australia.

Zookeepers believe the echidna, also known as a puggle, was two months old at the time of its rescue. It needed weeks of antibiotic treatment and a temperature-controlled artificial burrow to sleep in, the zoo said in a statement.

Taronga Keeper Samantha Elton has had to feed the puggle from the palm of her hand so it can lap up the food as it would do in the wild. Echidnas don’t have teats like most mammals but patches on their abdomen that excrete milk.

The puggle has been named Newman after the “Seinfeld” character.

Elton, who has been serving as the surrogate mother for Newman, said in the statement that “it is still quite small for its age, but it has almost doubled in size since February and the wound has healed perfectly.”