Platypus

It was late afternoon when we reached the nature reserve in Yungaburra, a small Australian town in north Queensland. Walking about fifty feet from the car, we descended a flight of granite stairs to reach a path running along a fast-moving, turbid stream – much like our chharas – about ten feet across. Over our head, a bridge over the stream cast a deep shadow all around us.

Several other people also stood nearby pointing cameras into the dark water. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light I saw a dark blob, about the size of a large rui fish, swimming on the murky surface. Sensing the presence of people it dived and did not emerge.

I waited patiently and another large blob came along, swimming rapidly. It stopped at the edge of the bridge and rested, half-immersed in water. Scratching itself with its feet, it turned over a few times in the water, changed directions, and rapidly swam out of the area. Its body shone with water and its eyes sat like small beads on an oversized head from which protruded an oversized bill.

That was it! I waited at other spots on the path and watched the water, but saw nothing more of interest.

What I had seen was a platypus (the name rhymes with “juice”.) This amphibian creature - found only in Australia - possesses several fascinating characteristics.

Its most interesting feature? It is a mammal that lays eggs.

With a large ducklike bill, webbed feet, and a body covered with hair like a rat or mole, the platypus looks like it belongs with the fantastic creatures that Sukumar Ray conjures in Abol Tabol. In fact, the first scientists to examine a preserved body of the platypus thought it was a fake, sewn together from parts of different animals. But the platypus is very real, and it is one of only five known mammals – collectively known as monotremes - that lay eggs.

The female platypus lays between one and three eggs. After they hatch, the mother nourishes the young with her milk. The female platypus does not have teats; rather it releases milk through pores on its skin. It gathers in grooves along the abdomen, from where the young platypus drinks it.

Another curious feature of the platypus is that the hind feet have a “spur”, like a sharp thorn, through which males can inject venom as a defense mechanism. It is thus the only known venomous mammal.

The platypus has a fat tail it uses for storing fat. While its size can vary, males are larger and can reach twenty inches in length and weigh up to five pounds.

Yet another distinction of the platypus is its hunting technique. A carnivore, it uses neither sight, nor sound, nor smell to hunt. Instead, when it dives, it closes its eyes, ears and nose, and physically detects the tiny electrical pulses of the muscular motion of its prey, including small fish and shrimp, which it catches with its bill.

While the platypus is not particularly rare or threatened, it is difficult to see, not just because it is shy, but also because it is active in darkness or twilight. I felt lucky to have seen and photographed one in its natural habitat. 

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