Did you know there were blonde echidnas? They're part of a sub-species found on Kangaroo Island, Tachyglossus aculeatus multiaculeatus. In this clip from The Echidna (or Spiny Anteater), a 1969 documentary made by the CSIRO, the ‘straw-coloured’ animal is observed trundling through the bush, burrowing in leaf litter, and splitting wood to get at snacks.

Animal documentaries of the era often took a comical take on, say, a wombat in the snow or a platypus bodysurfing down a creek. The CSIRO, who made this documentary in consultation with its Department of Wildlife Research, maintains a drily scientific approach to even the most marvellous facts (the echidna can hear with its nose!).