The adorable animal that steals gold from “Fantastic Beasts” is real people!
If you’ve seen Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, you’ll probably have fond memories of the fuzzy little niffler who verifiably stole the show by literally stealing shiny objects and hiding them on his painfully cute furry body. And hey, it turns out he was based on a REAL animal! Whaaaaaat?!
According to Uproxx, several were just born at an Australian zoo, and if you’re wondering what exactly the animals are…they’re baby echidnas (a species of spiny anteater), known affectionately as puggles.
Awwwwww! Even their names are cute!
Their birth actually holds special importance for Australia and its wildlife, as Taronga Zoo in Sydney has reportedly been trying to breed them in captivity for thirty years. Their current batch is healthy and doing remarkably well!
"It's a baby boom that's been nearly 30 years in the making! We're excited to announce the birth of three echidna puggles. This little guy is one of the tiny trio and has just begun to open its eyes and develop its characteristic spines in the safety and warmth of its nursery burrow."
And as well as being impossibly cute animals, CNN reports that these puggles have a relaxing life as youngsters.
"A day in the puggle world consists of lots of sleeping. They can be buried up to 30cm deep in their burrow, so they'll just sleep and use all their energy to grow and develop."
FYI, when puggles grow up, they look like this.
Okay, so we’re officially in love with puggles! And we also love that they (or a version of them) got their time to shine on the big screen.
You learn something new every day…
