TOTW/F/M Award(s): 2
- It is found in Australian fresh water lakes and streams.
- When out of the water the monotreme spends its time in burrows just above the water level, in river or stream banks or under a gathering of tree roots. Its burrow is distinguished by oval sections and it may also have two ends of entry or exit. These burrows can be up to thirty metres long, particularly when the female is nursing her young, an increase in tunnel length is a protection from predators and flooding.
- The platypus eats fresh water insects and their larvae, shrimps, yabbies, worms, tadpoles, small frogs and fish.
- Smaller prey is sifted from the bottom silt or gravel by the bill which is pliable and very sensitive.
- When the platypus is under water, it closes its eyes, ears and nostrils. Most information about its environment is obtained from electroreceptors in the skin of the bill. The receptors enable it to identify electrical fields created by the muscle movements of its prey.
- Juveniles have teeth, but lose them as they mature into adults.
- The tail of the platypus stores fat for periods of low food supply, or for when the female burrows to breed.
- Platypus’ are solitary animals, but do tend to share small bodies of water.
- Males and females are differentiated by the males having a sharp hollow spur on their hind legs which join to a gland in the groin which produces a venom capable of causing great pain and incapacity in humans and can be lethal to small mammals.
- They can be viewed early morning and late afternoon at the Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge platypus viewing area.
- They can be viewed up stream from the falls besides the walking path at the MalandaFallsEnvironmentalPark.
- Other viewing areas include the bridge over Maroobi Creek, the Petersen Creek viewing area in Yungaburra and in front of the Atherton pump station on crossing road.
Linear Mode
