Echidna and Hitch-hiker

Things have warmed up enough for Echidna to begin getting about.
As this guy made a dash to ground I was able to snap a shot or two, be it with the wide angle lens I had attached at the time - not really up to the task for this sort of work, and noticed a couple of hitch-hikers.

Now you may ask what sort of  incredibly game critter would hitch on the back of an Echidna, well a rather small and potentially dangerous one - the Blue Paralysis Tick.

While probably not too much hassle to the Echidna, for humans its a whole different story.
These little-fingernail sized ticks have been known to kill many a domestic pet and cause illness in humans.
Im not sure if anyone has died from these ticks, though I wouldn't doubt it was possible.
Just another sign that Spring is just about here and that the critters are awakening.