The Platypus Mission

 

<Kian>
I set my family a mission: "spot a platypus in the wild".
There was a platypus spotting area not far from Cape Hillsborough (Eungella National Park) so they agreed to detour from our plan and we set out in search of these cute creatures.

We parked our caravan at a small town at the showgrounds.
 

There were lots of streams about.

We did a river crossing.

And then drove to about 580m elevation up a steep mountain to a platypus viewing point

 At the top of the mountain was a rainforest with a look out - we were pretty high.




A fungi in the rainforest

One of the rainforest trees


At the platypus viewing point, the river was green and murky. 



A path from the carpark led under a bridge which is where we waited quietly. 

 It was a long, long wait..


After some time we spotted the platypus.  YEH!

It was a lot smaller than what I expected.

 

 

We saw it diving down and surfacing again.  It seemed to be playing a feeding game with a shag.

 

Mum saw two more platypuses swimming in the same river.

Platypuses are about 30-40cm long with webbed feet and a big flat bill nearly the same size and shape as their tail.  

Check out the webbed feet

Their fur is shiny when it is wet, which makes them pretty difficult to see in the water - see the water and the platypus both shine.

 

When they are underwater, platypuses blow bubbles which indicate where to look to see them come to the surface.

They were very cute and playful.

In the same river we saw a big fat eel and about 50 turtles.

The turtles were freshwater turtles with claws and webbed feet.

Platypus Fact or Fiction?

The plural of platypus is platypi?

Fiction! - The plural of platypus is platypuses or just platypus (like sheep or fish).  Similarly the plural of octopus is octopus not octopi!

Platypuses are unique to Australia and are also an unusual animal.  They are a mammal but they also lay eggs.  The only other mammal to lay eggs is the echidna.  They are called monotremes – egg laying mammals.

I asked Mum & Dad some things.  They didn’t know the answers and sometimes didn’t believe me until they checked on the internet.

Did you know?
Platypuses are venomous and dangerous!  They have spurs on their ankles.  The male produces venom that is powerful enough to kill a dog and would be extremely painful to humans.

Did you know?

Platypuses, similar to dolphins, use sense of electric fields to locate their prey.  They dig to the bottom of streams with their bill and “feels” the electric currents to locate their prey (small fish, worms, shrimp, yabbies, insect larvae).

Did you know?

The eyes ears and nostrils of a platypus close while it is underwater, using only the electric sensors in its bill to sense its direction.

Did you know?

Platypuses do not sleep in the water.  They sleep in a burrow just above the edge of the water, usually hidden by tree roots or branches.

 

Platypuses live only in the east coast of Australia so we were lucky to see them on this holiday. 

Mission Complete!