Editing Echidna


{{Quality|Fine}}
{{Creaturelookup/0
|image=echidna_couple_sprite.png
|bone=4
|meat=7
|fat=7
|lung=2
|intestine=1
|liver=0-1
|tripe=0-1
|brain=1
|skull=1
|skin=hide
|wiki=yes
|contrib=no
}}
{{av}}
{{creaturedesc}}
{{buggy|bugsection=Bugs}}

'''Echidnas''' are small solitary [[creature]]s found in most [[temperate]] [[biome]]s and [[desert]]s. They are benign meanderers, fleeing from any [[dwarf]] who attempts to confront them and generally not standing any chance against even the most inexperienced of [[hunter]]s. Their bodies are covered in spines (which don't actually hurt to touch), and when threatened, they curl into a ball to defend themselves. A baby echidna is called a ''puggle'', who are notably born as tiny as [[ant]]s.

Echidnas can be captured in [[cage]] [[trap]]s and [[Animal trainer|trained]] into exotic [[pet]]s. As monotremes, they lay [[egg]]s to give birth and as such can be placed in a [[nest box]], though they only lay a single egg at a time. In terms of [[butcher]]ing returns, they are only slightly better than [[cat]]s, making them overall poor animals for a [[meat industry]] or [[egg production]].

Some dwarves [[Preferences|like]] echidnas for their ''spines'' and their ''egg-laying''.

== Bugs ==
If a curled-up or retracted creature dies, and is then reanimated by a necromancer, it retains the effects of being curled-up, but can move and attack as normal. As a result, for example an undead echidna is invulnerable to destruction{{bug|11463}}. It combines well with a separate bug that allows curled-up undead to attack{{bug|10519}}.

As a result, the undead echidna may at the same time be curled-up (making it unkillable) and move/attack. The same problem also affects the [[echidna man]], [[giant echidna]], [[giant hedgehog]], [[hedgehog man]] and [[Armadillo]].

Modding the game and removing [PREVENTS_PARENT_COLLAPSE] from the spine body part of the affected animals will allow them to be pulped and killed while curled up. While it makes normal echidnas weaker, this is not a major problem as echidnas are not supposed to be really hard to kill. This workaround [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=175473.msg8111524#msg8111524 what may restore otherwise unplayable games].

It was also reported that in adventure mode "I was able to finally kill the zombie by lighting fires underneath him/around him then waiting for a long time; eventually he 'died in the heat.'"{{bug|10519}}.

[[File:Long-beakedEchidna.jpg|thumb|center|400px|Admired for its ''spines''.]]

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