Mo Ganji: Sir David’s Long-beaked Echidna | Sir Davids Langschnabeligel | Zaglossus attenboroughi | No. 202/250 from work group 8/99

Sir David’s Long-beaked Echidna | Sir Davids Langschnabeligel | Zaglossus attenboroughi

Mo Ganji directs his attention toward Sir David’s long-beaked echidna — a rare, egg-laying mammal inhabiting remote montane forests — by letting the single line move toward essence rather than evolutionary exception or curiosity. The line condenses the being into a reduced coherence, setting aside lineage, rarity and anatomical distinction so that presence can surface without explanation. In Ganji’s understanding, the line does not belong to the echidna alone; it remains open, acknowledging that every figure is also a human concept temporarily fixed upon something far older.

Zaglossus attenboroughi is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Known only from a small area in the Cyclops Mountains of Papua, Indonesia, the species was long thought extinct before indirect evidence suggested its continued survival. No confirmed sightings have been documented for decades, and population size remains unknown, heightening concern for its persistence.

The principal threats include habitat loss from deforestation, hunting, and increasing human access to previously isolated highland forests. Because the species appears to exist at extremely low densities and within a very restricted range, any disturbance carries disproportionate risk. The absence of recent direct observations further complicates conservation action.

Ganji’s single line opens a space in which the echidna can be encountered beyond rarity or scientific wonder. It allows attention to rest on a life situated at the edge of knowledge itself, suggesting how beings can drift toward disappearance not only through destruction, but through the quiet erosion of the conditions that once allowed them to remain hidden.