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.

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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.