Australian conservationists have announced their plans to build the world’s first refuge for the platypus with an aim to promote breeding and rehabilitation as the duck-billed mammal faces extinction due to climate change.
Key Points
- The New South Wales State government and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia have announced a plan to build the specialist facility, mostly ponds, and burrows for the semi-aquatic creatures, at a zoo 391 km from Sydney by the year 2022.
- This facility will be able to house up to 65 platypuses.
- These facilities will be helpful in building our knowledge about platypuses so that we don’t let this iconic creature slip off the earth.
- In late 2019 and early 2020, various concerns were raised regarding the increase in the chances of platypus going extinct since once-in-a-generation wildfires devastated 12.6 million hectares (31 million acres) of the bush, nearly the size of Greece.
- Unlike other famous Australian animals like kangaroo, the beaver-like platypus is rarely seen in the wild.
- Platypus is a furry, web-footed animal that generally lives around small streams and slow-moving rivers in cooler temperatures. It is one of just two egg-laying mammals.
The 2019-20 bushfires followed several years of drought, and Taronga had noted beforehand an increased number of platypuses with climate-related injuries and illnesses. The platypus has been designated as a protected species in Australia.
