For the first time in more than half a century, a team led by researchers from Australia's University of New South Wales (UNSW) has established a new platypus community in Royal National Park on the banks of the Harkin River outside Sydney. The platypus is one of the most unique animals on Earth. In fact, they were so unusual that when they were first encountered by Europeans in 1798, the first reaction of British naturalists was that the platypus was a hoax, and its shape was spliced together from fragments of other creatures.
Given how unusual platypus is, this is not a surprising conclusion. With a duck's beak, beaver's tail, otter's claws, and mole-like fur, the platypus is the only living representative of its family and genus, and one of only five living species of monoporous animals (the other four are different species of echidnas). Not only does it lay eggs, but it is also one of the few venomous mammals, and the male platypus has a thorn on its hind foot that can cause an extremely painful sting in humans.
They even have fluorescence capabilities. It emits a blue-green color under black light. In addition, they use electrolocalization to find their prey, making their eyes redundant when swimming.
Image from Richard Freeman/University of New South Wales Sydney
Although platypus has a wide range in eastern Australia, its population is declining due to habitat destruction, pollution and the introduction of natural predators such as red foxes. They are not yet universally threatened, but they are difficult to breed in captivity, and they have only been successfully bred at one zoo outside Australia, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
Even in places where they are relatively abundanced, the platypus is rarely seen because it hunts crustaceans, insects and worms in muddy water, sleeping in underground bureaus for up to 14 hours a day.
The platypus was last identified in the Royal National Park in the 70s of the 20th century, when the local platypus population dwindled, perhaps due to a chemical spill. The platypus conservation programme, comprising the University of New South Wales' Centre for Ecosystem Science, the Australian Talonga Conservation Society, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and WWF Australia, introduced four females into the Harkin River after years of monitoring the area's pollution and prey abundance. Later, a total of six females and four male platypus will be released.
NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharp releases platypus
According to the team, the reintroduction of platypus will also help keep the area healthy, as the animal is a top predator. If its breeding performance is good, then it means that the local ecological environment is also very good. These platypus were selected from different regions to ensure genetic diversity.
"The iconic platypus is under tremendous pressure. The work done to achieve the purpose of releasing these platypus is critical to ensuring the safety of these species in the future," Environment Minister Penny Sharp said. "Royal National Park is Australia's oldest national park and I am delighted that this historic reintroduction will help re-establish a sanctuary for this iconic species." Diversion is just a conservation measure that can help ensure the survival of NSW species such as platypus to combat climate change. "