It was earlier considered that echidnas have gone extinct in Australia for thousands of years. But hopes have arisen that the 10kg weighing long-beaked echidna that grows to a metre long could be present in a remote area of Western Australia.

Dr. Kristofer Helgen discovered a specimen in the collection of the Natural History Museum in London. After carrying out some investigation, Dr. Helgen realized that the specimen has been taken from the wild in Australia in 1901.

In addition, a 90-year-old Aboriginal woman in 2001 told one of the team members of Dr. Helgen had hunted the larger echidnas. The finding has led researchers to carry out the hunt for the animal.

The researchers said the specimen and information they received was enough to consider it as evidence that the long-beaked echidna has survived into the early twentieth century.

"We hold out a small optimism that long-beaked echidnas might yet dig burrows and hunt invertebrates in at least one hidden corner of Australia's north-west", said researchers.

Officials from Australian Wildlife Conservancy and the West Australian Environment Department are in search of DNA evidence of the animal. For the same, they have been collecting and testing echidna scat from West Kimberley.

Prof. Stephen Donnellan from University of Adelaide School of Earth and Environmental Sciences said even if they do not find DNA of the animal in the scats that they collect then also they cannot say that the animal is not at West Kimberley. The only place, where the western long-beaked echidna now exists is New Guinea.

The DNA from the Australian remain will be compared with the New Guinea creatures to know their genetic relationship.