It will do so for about a minute, keep its prey in cheek pouches and consume them after returning to the surface.įun fact: although they usually stay down for about a minute to forage, they are known to stay for at least 10 minutes underwater if they feel threatened or retire to their burrow unnoticed. The platypus has tiny electric receptors on its bill that permits it to sense the movement of its prey while digging out on the riverbed with its snout. But how does he get food with its eyes and nose water-sealed ? Emerging from their burrows at dusk, the platypus spends most of the evening and night hours foraging for bottom-dwelling invertebrates such as worms, small shrimps, and insect larvae. If you think you’ve had your share of weirdness, think again… The platypus is also one of the few species of venomous mammals: the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of killing small animals such as dogs. Although not lethal to humans, the pain is so excrutiating that the victim may be incapacitated.īoth the male and the female are born with the spur, but only the male’s contains venom. The mother will nurse the babies for three to four monts until the babies can swim on their own and finally emerge from the burrow, covered in thick and waterproof fur, like their parents.įun fact: A platypus is born with teeth, but these drop out at a very early age, leaving the horny plates it uses to grind food.Ī zookeeper cradles rare twin platypus babies, which scientists have suggested be called “platypups” in Healesville Sanctuary, Australia. But in the strange case of the platypus… the mother has no teats ! The baby licks the fur on the mom’s chest for sustenance. So, like all mammals, the platypus breast-feeds its young. This explains why platypuses are considered as mammals despite all the differences they might have with other more “ordinary” mammals.Ī small David Attenborough documentary on monostremes hatchlings (echidnas and platipus): As opposed to reptiles and birds, mammals have mammary glands and produce milk to feed their young. The term “ mammal” comes from the Latin word mamma which means “breast”. It’s a small, sharp, protuberance on its bill to help break through the egg’s surface. It will hatch the size of a bean, hairless, blind, and completely dependent on its mother for sustenance and milk.įun fact: the infants have an egg tooth, like birds. The babies do not hatch fully formed, like reptiles the eggs do not contain enough food to sustain the entire development of the hatchling. The fertilised eggs will develop for about a month in the mother’s belly, and will then be incubated for about 10 days before hatching. The platypus and the echidna are the only mammals who do lay eggs. Hang on ! Lay eggs ? I thought mamals did not lay eggs ! A mammal that lays eggs They basically poop and lay eggs from through the same hole. The platypus is a monostreme, like the echidna. But this is far from being the extent of its weirdness… Platypus males are roughly 50cm long, while female average 40 cm (head to tail). Probably one of the weirdest animals on this earth, the platypus is a mammal with a duck bill, a beaver-like tail and paddled feet. I did take the top two pictures, but since they are not the best, I will use other pictures to show just how cute it really is, in the following article on this extraordinary eye-laying, poisonous mammal ! About the platypus We followed it for about 300m, taking pictures and obesrving it while it was foraging for food, until it disappeared again underwater and we lost it… We then decided to go back to the car for a picnic and, as we sat down, another one popped out there as well ! How lucky is that ?!?
#SHOW ME PICTURES OF A PLATYPUS FULL#
A weirdly gracious little platypus, full of fur and cuteness that just started waddling along the sea bank, taking absolutely no care of us whatsoever. As she left, suddenly, right in front of us, maybe 2 meters away, a platypus popped out of the water. It is a beautiful stretch of water lost between the trees.Īs we approached the river my mother noticed some movement on the bank beneath our feet and went to get her camera.
On our last day in Tasmania I was pretty much resolved to not seeing any platypuses in Australia but not quite giving up yet… so we made our way to the Fernglade reserve, in Burnie, Tasmania.
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