Beach-goers were faced with a different kind of sea creature when they entered the water at Victoria 's picturesque Rye Beach last week - a swimming echidna ! The prickly Australian mammal was filmed paddling out to sea in the turquoise waters off the Mornington Peninsula , 83 km south of Melbourne . Where it was heading , is anyone 's guess . Scroll down for video . This echidna was spotted paddling out to sea off Rye Beach , a popular surfing and fishing spot on Victoria 's Mornington Peninsula . The video of the swimming echidna , which looks to be happily using its ant-eating snout as a snorkel , was posted online by YouTube user Emma B . According to Australia Zoo , echidnas , like many native Australian animals , are actually 'proficient ' swimmers . They like the water so much , that the Zoo built a special swimming pool for its echidna residents to cool off on hot summer days . Echidnas , like many native Australian animals , are actually 'proficient ' swimmers - though they usually prefer fresh water to the open ocean . The echidna - or spiny ant-eater - is found all over Australia , in coastal forests , alpine meadows and desert habitats . They live on a diet of ants , termites , grubs and worms but biologists think the mammals evolved from aquatic ancestors like the platypus . Gary Sutton , a park ranger from Narawntapu National Park in Tasmania , said he has also seen wallabies and wombats surfing . He previously told the ABC he thought the animals went in the water to get rid of parasites , like lice and ticks . With its webbed-feet and snout in the air as a snorkle , the little echidna paddled out to sea .
An echidna is filmed swimming in soft sand at hunter 's Rye Beach . The sand - based mammal looks to be using its fish - eating habits as a weapon . Echidnas are proficient swimmers , believed to have evolved from aquatic ancestors like the platypus .