Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus

When the first platypus specimen was sent to England for identification, its appearance was so strange that it was thought to be a hoax. An animal that had a muzzle like a duck's bill and carried a tail like a beaver was said to be an impossibility. Since then, scientists have come to accept that this Australian native is very real. But it's something of a rarity.

The platypus and the two species of echidna are the world's only monotremes, or egg-laying mammals. The name 'monotreme' comes from the fact that these animals have only a single opening for reproduction and getting rid of body wastes.

While the Platypus is not listed as a threatened species individual populations are under pressure.

The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife funded scientists to survey the Platypus in the three major rivers of the Bellinger catchment. Supported by the local community, scientists collected data through netting, observation from the river bank and by canoe.

Before the survey there were only five recorded Platypus sightings in the area. After the project a further 159 locations could be added to the distribution map. The results of the survey provide a scientific base for management strategies to protect and enhance platypus habitat.

The results of the survey were published in the 125 / 2004 issue of the journal “Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales”. The platypus is not yet listed as threatened, but the report clearly states that the species’ future conservation can only be assured by preventing further degradation of Platypus habitat and rehabilitation of disturbed areas.

In 2008 the Foundation for National Parks is running an appeal to purchase land for the Australian Wildlife Corridor. Our focus is on the property Kalungra, a property in the New Engalnd region near Tamworth, NSW, that provides habitat for a thriving population of platypus.

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