‘Bless You:’ Echidna With Ant Allergy Sneezes on Keeper’s Boot

Matilda the echidna was born with an unfortunate allergy: she was allergic to ants, her primary food group. She was taken to the Australian Wildlife Health Centre at Victoria’s Healesville Sanctuary in 2010 as a three-month-old puggle after being accidentally dug up from her burrow on a property in Yarra Valley. When Matilda was around two years old, keepers noticed some red inflammation around her eyes. After specialist allergen testing, vets discovered the unfortunate little echidna was allergic to ants, as well as one of Australia’s most common native plants. Specialist vets created a special vaccine that was administered to Matilda in small, regular doses over many years to gradually build immunity to her allergens. Finally, in October 2018, Healesville Sanctuary was delighted to announce that Matilda was officially vaccine-free for six months, with no negative skin reactions. Matilda was the first-known echidna in the world found to be allergic to ants. She will now hopefully enjoy a long and happy life, eating ants to her heart’s content. In this video, allergy-prone Matilda sneezes loudly on her keeper’s boot, prompting her keeper to say “bless you!” Credit: Healesville Sanctuary via Storyful