What is a platypus large or small. Where does the platypus live - the amazing mammal of Australia? Habitat and behavioral features
The platypus is an amazing creature of the animal world. This is a beautiful, secretive and shy creature. I call it a joke of God. At first glance, it seems that it is assembled from parts belonging to different animals. A leathery beak, similar to a duck, is planted on a shaggy head with an absurd mask. The limbs, like those of reptiles, are widely spaced on the sides, and swims like a beaver, with the help of a massive tail.
The platypus (lat. Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a waterfowl mammal of the monotreme order that lives in Australia. This is the only modern representative of the platypus family (Ornithorhynchidae); together with echidnas, it forms a detachment of monotremes (Monotremata) - animals that are close to reptiles in a number of ways. This unique animal is one of the symbols of Australia; it is depicted on the reverse of the Australian 20 cent coin.
Platypuses are found in Eastern Australia - from Queensland to Tasmania. They were also brought to Kangaroo Island off the southern coast of Australia. Usually they settle near swamps, along the banks of rivers and lakes, feeling at home in cold alpine streams and in warm tropical lagoons. They build deep burrows in which they find shelter and breed. The cramped entrance tunnel is designed to wring water from the owner's fur coat.
Ever since scientists discovered the beak-nosed platypus in 1797, it has immediately become a mortal enemy of evolution. When this amazing animal was sent to England, scientists thought it was a fake made by Chinese stuffers. At that time, these craftsmen were famous for connecting different parts of the animal's body and making unusual stuffed animals. After the platypus was discovered, George Shaw introduced it to the public as Platypus anatinus (translated as flat-footed duck). This name did not last long, as another scientist, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, changed it to "paradoxical bird's beak", or Ornithorhynchus paradoxus (paradoxical bird's beak in translation). After a long dispute between these two scientists about the name of this animal, they finally came to convention and decided to call it the "duck-billed bird" or Ornithorhynchus anatinus.
Systematists were forced to separate the platypus into a separate order because it did not belong to any other order. Robert W. Feid explains it this way: “The nose of the platypus is like the beak of a duck. On each foot are not only five fingers, but also membranes, which makes the platypus something between a duck and an animal that can dig and dig. Unlike most mammals, the platypus' limbs are short and parallel to the ground. Externally, the ear looks like an opening without the auricle, which is usually present in mammals. The eyes are small. The platypus is an animal that leads night image life. It catches food underwater and stores food supply, i.e. worms, snails, larvae and other worms like squirrels in special bags that are behind his cheeks "
There is a playful parable according to which the Lord, having created animal world, discovered the remnants of "building material", gathered them together and connected: duck nose, beaver tail, cock spurs, webbed feet, sharp claws, thick short fur, cheek pouches, etc.
Now the only one living in Australia is called a platypus, scientifically - platypus (literally: a flat paw), in the old days they tried to call it a duck mole and a water mole, but these names did not take root. It is also called a bird animal. What is this strange animal?
The length of his body is about 30 cm, together with the tail - up to 55 cm, weight adult about 2 kg. Like many other animal species, male platypuses are noticeably larger than females. Squat, with a large tail, something similar to a beaver, the platypus got its eloquent name due to the soft beak, covered with elastic skin.
The platypus is one of the few poisonous mammals(along with some shrews and shaletooths), which have toxic saliva.
Young platypuses of both sexes have rudiments of horn spurs on their hind legs. In females, by the age of one year, they fall off, while in males they continue to grow, reaching 1.2-1.5 cm in length by the time of puberty. Each spur is connected by a duct to the femoral gland, which during the mating season produces a complex "cocktail" of poisons. Males use spurs during courtship fights. Platypus venom can kill a dingo or other small animal. For a person, it is generally not fatal, but it causes very severe pain, and edema develops at the injection site, which gradually spreads to the entire limb. Pain (hyperalgesia) can last for many days or even months. Other oviparous - echidnas - also have rudimentary spurs on their hind legs, but they are not developed and are not poisonous.
This ovipositor has a defiant appearance: a duck nose, a beaver tail and paws, like an otter. European naturalists were very puzzled when they saw the platypus for the first time. They even thought that this animal is the latest development of local pranksters. But when the bird-beast injected a portion of poison into one of the naturalists, it became clear that this was a serious matter.
Immediately after the discovery of an outlandish animal by Europeans, a copy of the platypus was sent to the UK. British scientists did not believe their eyes and put forward the assumption that this is another craft of oriental magicians. Those, they say, between swallowing fire, collecting sailboats in bottles and conjuring snakes with the help of playing the pipe, earn a living also by sewing duck beaks to beavers. Pundits even cut off the fur on the body of the beast to see if there were any seams.
As the study progressed, some more features in the structure of an interesting animal were revealed that are not immediately evident. The platypus stores fat reserves not under the skin, like people, but in the tail. His nose is like rubber (almost like a duck). Weight - from one kilogram to two and a half. And in size, platypuses are about half a meter. Despite the fact that this creature is a mammal (in the sense that it feeds and itself feeds on mother's milk in childhood), it does not have nipples. Milk is secreted through the pores of the skin. The platypus differs from other mammals in another way: its body temperature, on average, is 32 ° C, and not 37 ° C, as is usually the case with animals and people. And one more thing - to the question of who's paws grow from where. So, the paws of a bird animal do not grow like animals and not even like birds, but like reptiles, lizards, for example, or crocodiles, that is, they grow not from the lower part of the body, but on the sides. It affects gait.
The platypus is a rather dangerous enemy for those it feeds on. Firstly, this animal is very voracious, it is forced to eat 20% of its own weight every day, so it hunts 12 hours a day. And secondly, it is very difficult to leave him. The predator has only 30 seconds that he can spend under water - and during this time he must have time to detect and catch prey. But the platypus - great swimmer, he rows four webbed feet and tail and develops tremendous speed. The hunter brings his prey to the surface behind the cheek, in which a lot is placed, and eats there. In the old days, people often killed the platypus themselves - its fur is very good. But already at the beginning of the 20th century, hunting for a fluffy bird animal was banned. Nevertheless, the platypus is not able to live in water bodies polluted by humans, but in captivity it breeds poorly, therefore it is under the threat of extinction.
Evolutionists fail to explain anatomical structure platypus; they can't explain it physiological features; and they don't know how to explain this animal in terms of evolutionary processes. One thing is clear: the diversity of the platypus confuses evolutionary scientists. This being can only be explained as the result of the work of the guiding hand of God.
The platypus is an amazing animal that lives only in Australia, on the island of Tasmania. An outlandish miracle belongs to mammals, but, unlike other animals, it lays eggs, like common bird. Platypuses belong to oviparous mammals - rare species animals that have survived only on the Australian continent.
Discovery history
Strange creatures can boast unusual story their discoveries. The first description of the platypus was given by Australian pioneers in the early 18th century. For a long time, science did not recognize the existence of platypuses and considered the mention of them to be an inept joke of Australian residents. Finally, at the end of the 18th century, scientists at a British university received a parcel from Australia containing the fur of an unknown animal, similar to a beaver, with paws like those of otters and a nose like that of an ordinary domestic duck. Such a beak looked so ridiculous that scientists even shaved off the hair on the muzzle, believing that Australian pranksters sewed a duck nose to the skin of a beaver. Finding no seams, no traces of glue, pundits just shrugged. No one could understand where he lives or how the platypus breeds. Only a few years later, in 1799, the British naturalist J. Shaw proved the existence of this miracle and gave the first detailed description creature, which was later given the name "platypus". A photo of a bird animal can only be taken in Australia, because this is the only continent on which these exotic animals currently live.
Origin
The appearance of platypuses refers to those distant times when there were no modern continents. All land was united into one huge continent - Gondwana. It was then, 110 million years ago, that platypuses appeared in terrestrial ecosystems, taking the place of the recently extinct dinosaurs. Migrating, platypuses settled throughout the mainland, and after the collapse of Gondwana, they remained to live on a large stretch of the ex-continent, which was later called Australia. Due to the isolated location of their homeland, the animals have retained their original appearance even after millions of years. Different kinds platypuses at one time inhabited the expanses of the entire land, but only one species of these animals has come down to the present.
Classification
For a quarter of a century, the leading minds of Europe puzzled over how to classify the overseas beast. Of particular difficulty was the fact that the creature turned out to have a lot of signs that are found in birds, animals, and amphibians.
The platypus saves all fat reserves in the tail, and not under the hair on the body. Therefore, the tail of the beast is solid, heavy, able not only to stabilize the movement of the platypus in the water, but also serves as an excellent means of defense. The weight of the animal fluctuates around one and a half to two kilograms with a length of half a meter. Compare with a domestic cat, which, with the same dimensions, weighs much more. Animals do not have nipples, although they produce milk. The temperature of the bird animal is low, barely reaching 32 degrees Celsius. This is much lower than that of mammals. Among other things, platypuses have another striking feature in the literal sense. These animals can hit with poison, which makes them quite dangerous opponents. Like almost all reptiles, the platypus lays eggs. Platypuses have in common with snakes and lizards both the ability to produce poison and the arrangement of the limbs, like those of amphibians. Amazing walk of the platypus. He moves by bending his body like a reptile. After all, his paws do not grow from the bottom of the body, like birds or animals. The limbs of this either a bird or an animal are located on the sides of the body, like those of lizards, crocodiles or monitor lizards. High on the head of the animal are the eyes and ear holes. They can be found in depressions located on each side of the head. The auricles are absent, while diving, he closes his eyes and ears with a special skin fold.
mating games
Every year, platypuses hibernate, which lasts 5-10 short winter days. This is followed by a mating period. How the platypus breeds, scientists have found out relatively recently. It turns out that, like all major events in the life of these animals, the courtship process takes place in the water. The male bites the tail of the female he likes, after which the animals circle each other in the water for some time. They do not have permanent pairs, the children of the platypus remain only with the female, who herself is engaged in their cultivation and education.
Waiting for the cubs
A month after mating, the platypus digs a long deep hole, filling it with armfuls of wet leaves and brushwood. The female wears everything necessary, covering her paws and tucking her flat tail from below. When the shelter is ready future mom fits into the nest, and the entrance to the hole is covered with earth. In this nesting chamber, the platypus lays its eggs. The clutch usually contains two, rarely three small whitish eggs, which are glued together with a sticky substance. The female incubates the eggs for 10-14 days. The animal spends this time curled up in a ball on the masonry, hidden by wet leaves. At the same time, the female platypus can occasionally leave the hole in order to have a snack, clean itself and moisten the fur.
Birth of platypuses
After two weeks of residence in the masonry appears little platypus. The baby breaks eggs with an egg tooth. After the baby comes out of the shell, this tooth falls off. After birth, the female platypus moves the cubs onto her abdomen. The platypus is a mammal, so the female feeds her cubs with milk. Platypuses do not have nipples, milk from the enlarged pores on the parent's stomach flows down the wool into special grooves, from where the cubs lick it. The mother occasionally goes outside to hunt and clean herself, while the entrance to the hole is clogged with earth.
For up to eight weeks, cubs need their mother's warmth and can freeze if left unattended for a long time.
At the eleventh week, the eyes of the little platypuses open, after four months the babies grow up to 33 cm in length, grow hair and completely switch to adult food. A little later, they leave the hole and begin to lead an adult lifestyle. At the age of one year, the platypus becomes an adult sexually mature individual.
Platypuses in history
Before the appearance of the first European settlers on the shores of Australia, platypuses had practically no external enemies. But amazing and valuable fur made them an object of white people's fishing. Skins of platypuses, black-brown on the outside and gray on the inside, at one time were used to make fur coats and hats for European fashionistas. Yes and locals did not hesitate to shoot the platypus for their needs. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the decline in the number of these animals became rampant. The naturalists sounded the alarm, and the platypus joined the ranks. Australia began to create special reserves for amazing animals. Animals were taken under state protection. The problem was complicated by the fact that the places where the platypus lives must be protected from the presence of a person, since this animal is shy and sensitive. Besides, mass distribution rabbits on this continent were deprived of their usual nesting places by platypuses - their holes were occupied by eared aliens. Therefore, the government had to allocate huge areas, protected from third-party interference, in order to preserve and increase the population of platypuses. Such reserves have played a decisive role in preserving the population of these animals.
Platypuses in captivity
Attempts have been made to resettle this animal in zoos. In 1922, the first platypus arrived at the New York Zoo and lived in captivity for only 49 days. Because of their desire for silence and increased shyness, the animals never mastered zoos; in captivity, the platypus reluctantly lays eggs, offspring were only obtained a few times. No cases of domestication of these exotic animals by humans have been recorded. Platypuses were and remain wild and distinctive Australian Aborigines.
Platypus today
Now platypuses are not considered Tourists are happy to visit the places where the platypus lives. Travelers willingly publish photos of this animal in their stories about Australian tours. Bird animal images serve hallmark many Australian goods and manufacturing companies. Along with the kangaroo, the platypus has become a symbol of the Australian continent.
The platypus is a waterfowl belonging to the class of mammals of the monotreme order, or oviparous. This order includes only two families - platypus and echidna. The main difference between platypuses and echidnas from other mammals is the ability to lay eggs.
Where does the platypus live?
The platypus lives only in Australia. In the eastern part of the mainland, the range of the animal is quite extensive - from the Australian Alps and the Tasmanian plateau to the warm rain forests of Queensland. In the northern part of Australia, the platypus is found up to the Cape York Peninsula, and in the central and southern part it is completely extinct, with the exception of about. Kangaroo and the Murray-Darling River Basin. The reason for the disappearance of the platypus in the above regions was the pollution of river waters and intensive hunting for it until the beginning of the 20th century.
The platypus lives only near the coast with clean and fresh water. The home of the platypus is a burrow up to 10 meters long with two entrances. One entrance is in the water, and the other is above the water at a height of 1-3.5 m. Most platypuses are nocturnal, but there are also individuals that hunt well during the day. 
What does a platypus eat?
Platypuses spend a lot of time in search of food - from 8 to 10 hours. Mostly by extracting it in the water, although they often find something to profit from on land. Turning stones near the coast with powerful claws or beaks, they often catch various beetles, larvae, worms and snails. In the water, platypuses eat small fish, crustaceans, tadpoles, frogs, and even aquatic vegetation. To maintain vitality, an animal needs to eat about a quarter of its own weight of various living creatures daily.
When scientists discovered the platypus in Australia, the very fact of its existence dealt a mortal blow to the theory of evolution: only the Lord God could unambiguously create such an unusual creature in every sense.
The nose of this amazing animal surprisingly strongly resembled the beak of a duck (hence the name), on each foot it had five webbed fingers. The paws of the creature, like those of a reptile, turned out to be located on the sides, and spurs were found on the hind legs, like those of a rooster.
The tail of the animal was not much different from the tail of a beaver, and it also turned out that it carries eggs and is able to poison the enemy with its own poison! And this is not a complete list. amazing features animal, which is the unofficial symbol of the Australian continent and is depicted on the twenty cent coin.
These amazing animals are waterfowl mammals, the only representatives of the platypus family that belong to the monotreme order. This detachment is notable for the fact that it includes proechidna, platypus and echidna, and the main feature of its representatives is that the urogenital sinus and intestines of animals do not go out in separate passages, but flow into the cloaca.
The platypus lives in eastern Australia, on Kangaroo Island and in Tasmania, which is located 240 km from the Australian coast towards Antarctica. Prefers to live in fresh water, the temperature indicators of which range from 25 to 29.9 ° C.
Previously, this animal could be found throughout the continent, but many of them were exterminated by poachers, and the remaining animals due to too much pollution environment moved to more environmentally friendly regions.
Description
The body of the platypus is tightly knitted, short-legged, covered with thick, pleasant to the touch, dark brown hair, which acquires a grayish or reddish tint on the belly. The shape of his head is round, the eyes, as well as the nasal and ear openings are located in the recesses, the edges of which, when the platypus dives, converge tightly.
The animal itself is small:
- Body length from 30 to 40 cm (males are one third larger than females);
- Tail length - 15 cm;
- Weight - about 2 kg.
The legs of the animal are located on the sides, which is why its gait is extremely reminiscent of the movement of reptiles on land. There are five fingers on the paws of the animal, which are ideally suited not only to swim, but also to dig the ground: the swimming membrane connecting them is interesting because, if necessary, it can bend so that the claws of the animal will be outside, turning the swimming limb into a digging one.
Since the membranes on the hind legs of the animal are less developed, while swimming, it actively uses the front legs, while using the hind legs as a rudder, while the tail plays the role of balance.
The tail is slightly flat, covered with hair. Interestingly, it is very easy to determine the age of the platypus from it: the older, the less wool. The tail of the animal is also notable for the fact that it is in it, and not under the skin, that fat reserves are stored.
Beak
The most remarkable in the appearance of the animal will be, perhaps, its beak, which looks so unusual that it seems that it was once torn off from a duck, repainted black and attached to a fluffy head.
The beak of a platypus differs from the beak of birds: it is soft and flexible. At the same time, like a duck, it is flat and wide: with a length of 65 mm, its width is 50 mm. One more interesting feature the beak is that it is covered with elastic skin, in which there is a huge number of nerve endings. Thanks to them, the platypus, while on land, has an excellent sense of smell, and is also the only mammal, which feels weak electric fields that appear during muscle contraction of even the smallest animals, such as crayfish.
Such abilities for electrolocation enable the blind and deaf to aquatic environment the animal to detect prey: for this, being under water, he constantly turns his head in different directions.
An interesting fact is that the platypus is poisonous (besides it, among mammals, only thick lorises, shrews, and snail teeth have such abilities): the animal has toxic saliva, and males are also owners of poisonous horn spurs. At first, all young animals have them, but in females at the age of one year they disappear, while in males they grow further and reach one and a half centimeters.
Each spur is connected through a special duct to a gland located on the thigh, which during the breeding season begins to produce poison of such strength that it is quite capable of killing a dingo or any other medium-sized animal (its animals are used mainly to fight other males). For a person, the poison is not fatal, however, the injection is extremely painful, and a large tumor appears in its place. The swelling subsides after a while, but the pain may well be felt for several months.
Way of life and nutrition
Platypuses live near swamps, near rivers and lakes, in warm tropical lagoons, and even despite all their love for warm water, can live in cold high mountain streams. This adaptability is explained by the fact that the animals have an extremely low metabolism, and the body temperature is only 32 ° C. The platypus is very good at regulating it, and therefore, even while in water, the temperature of which is 5 ° C, thanks to the acceleration of metabolism several times, the animal maintains desired temperature body for several hours.
The platypus lives in a deep hole about ten meters long, in which two entrances are provided: one is under water, the other is disguised by thickets or located under the roots of trees. Interestingly, the entrance tunnel is so narrow that when the platypus passes it to get into the inner chamber, the water from the owner's coat is squeezed out.
The animal goes hunting at night and stays in the water almost all the time: for its full existence, the weight of the food eaten per day must be at least a quarter of the weight of the animal. The platypus feeds on insects, crustaceans, frogs, worms, snails, small fish and even algae.
He is looking for prey not only in water, but also on land, in search of small living creatures, methodically turning stones with his beak or claws. As for spearfishing, it is not easy for the prey to get away from the animal: having found the victim, it instantly takes off from the spot, and it usually takes only a few seconds to grab it.
Having caught food, he does not eat it immediately, but stores it in special cheek pouches. Having collected the required amount of food, the platypus swims to the surface and, without going ashore, grinds it with horny plates, which it uses instead of teeth (only young animals have teeth, but they are so fragile that they wear out very quickly).
Reproduction and offspring
How long do platypuses live in wild nature, is not exactly known, but in captivity their life expectancy is about ten years. Therefore, the ability to reproduce in platypuses appears already at the age of two years, and mating season always comes in the spring.
An interesting fact: before the start of the mating season, platypuses always hibernate for no more than ten days. If before the start of the breeding season, males do not contact females, a considerable number of applicants gather near her during the mating season, and the males fiercely fight each other, using poisonous spurs. Despite fierce fights, platypuses do not form permanent pairs: immediately after mating, the male goes in search of other females.
The female does not lay her eggs in her hole, but specially digs out a new hole, which is not only longer than her dwelling, but also has a specially designated place for the nest, which the expectant mother makes from leaves and stems.
The female usually lays two eggs fourteen days after mating. These eggs are dirty white in color, and their diameter is about 11 mm (it is interesting that almost immediately the eggs stick together with the help of a special sticky substance covering them).
The incubation period lasts about ten days, all this time the mother of the hole almost does not leave and lies curled up around the eggs.
The baby is selected from the egg with the help of a special egg tooth, which falls off as soon as the cub makes its way. Small platypuses are born blind, without hair, about 2.5 cm long. The mother, lying on her back, immediately puts newborn babies on her stomach.
The animals do not have nipples at all: the female feeds the babies with milk, which comes through the pores located on the stomach. Milk, flowing down the mother's wool, accumulates in special grooves, from where it is licked by small platypuses. The female is separated from her cubs only in order to get her own food. Leaving the hole, she clogs the inlet with earth.
The eyes of the babies open quite late - at the end of the third month of life, and at seventeen weeks they begin to leave the hole and learn to hunt, while feeding with mother's milk ends.
Relationships with people
Whereas in nature this animal has few enemies (sometimes it is attacked by a python, a crocodile, predatory bird, a monitor lizard, a fox or an accidentally swum seal), at the beginning of the last century, it was on the verge of extinction. A hundred-year-old hunt did its job and destroyed almost everyone: products made from platypus fur turned out to be so popular that poachers did not know mercy (about 65 skins are needed to sew one fur coat).
The situation turned out to be so critical that already at the beginning of the last century, hunting for platypuses was completely prohibited. The measures turned out to be successful: now the population is quite stable and nothing threatens it, and the animals themselves, being the indigenous inhabitants of Australia and refusing to breed on other continents, are considered a symbol of the continent and are even depicted on one of the coins.
Platypus - endemic to Australia, as well as one of the most unusual representatives of the animal world of our planet.
About this mysterious, strange, shy creature that has very unusual appearance , they say, as a joke of the Creator, who allegedly created this beast from parts of other representatives of the fauna.
With a large beak on its head, reptile limbs, and a massive beaver-like tail, the appearance of the platypus is strange and bizarre. If you are wondering where the platypus lives, its lifestyle features and other facts about the life of this animal, then information below for you.
The platypus (platypus - "flat paw") is waterfowl, as well as the only modern representative of the platypus family that lives in Australia.
Platypus in Australia is a symbol. The image of this animal is present on the reverse of the twenty-cent Australian coin.
Late 18th century An unusual animal with a beak instead of a nose and a beaver tail was discovered by scientists during the colonization of the territory of New South Wales.
For a more detailed observation, the skin of the beast was transported to the UK, where even great minds mistook the platypus for a fake.
At that time, Chinese stuffed animals could connect different parts of the animal body, making bizarre stuffed animals. Managed to dispel the "authenticity" of the platypus George Shaw who gave the animal its name.
Interesting fact! In Australia, there is a tale that when the Lord created the animal world and discovered the residual " construction material"(duck nose, sharp claws, beaver tail, rooster spurs), I decided to create other platypus animals from these parts.
For more than 25 years, scientists did not know what species to attribute this animal to. But in 1824 German biologist Meckel discovered mammary glands in a female platypus. But the fact that this animal lays eggs, and does not bear cubs, became known only by the end of the 19th century.
Evolutionary experts still cannot explain the specific anatomy and physiological features of the platypus. Various features of this amazing animal confuse evolutionists.
Where does the platypus live, what does it eat and its appearance
Platypus lives in Australia on the east coast as well as on the island of Tasmania.
In addition, platypuses artificially brought on the south island Kangaroo, where they feel great and breed.
platypus leads night semi-aquatic image life. The animal is an excellent swimmer and can dive underwater for up to five minutes. The beast spends in the water up to ten hours a day.
Platypus lives near swamps. It can live both in warm tropical eucalyptus lagoons and near high mountain cold rivers. Platypuses build deep burrows to drain water from their coats. That is where they breed.
Long platypus can grow from 30 to 40 cm, and the tail at the same time reaches 10-15 cm. The fur of the platypus is soft and dense, gray or reddish on the belly and dark brown on the back.
Interesting fact! At the base of the male's beak, there is a specific gland that produces a secret with a musky smell.
The skin of the platypus' beak has nerve endings that provide not only wonderful touch, but also the ability to electrolocation, and, accordingly, the rapid search for prey.
The platypus, thanks to the special structure of its paws, can not only dig the ground, but also great swim. In the water, the animal moves much more actively. On land, it walks slowly, like a reptile.
As far as mass is concerned, the average platypus weighs 2 kg. The males of this animal are much larger than the females.
Platypuses spend a lot of time looking for food– 8-10 hours. Mostly they get food in the water, but they often find something to profit from on land.
Turning stones near the coast with their powerful claws or beak, they catch larvae, bugs and worms. Platypuses eat in the water tadpoles, frogs, small fish and even aquatic vegetation.
Every year platypuses fall into 5-10 days hibernation , after which they have a breeding season. It continues from August to November. Mating takes place in the water. Platypuses do not form permanent pairs.
After mating, the female digs a brood hole and after 2 weeks lays 1-3 eggs. The male does not take part in the construction of the burrow and the rearing of the young.
duck nose animal protection
Before the beginning of the 20th century the fur of the platypus was very valuable and they were exterminated for the sake of soft furs.
However, since advent of the twentieth century hunting for these animals was prohibited.
To date, the platypus population considered stable. However, pollution and degradation of the animal's habitat has led to the fact that its range has become mosaic.
Also damage to the population was caused by the colonists of the 19th century who were brought to Green Continent rabbits that forced out platypuses from their habitable places.
Today in Australia there are special protected reserves zones where these animals feel completely safe. In Victoria, the platypus can be seen in the Hillsville Game Reserve, and in Queensland in the protected West Burley pair.
It's important to know! Since the platypus is a shy animal, for a long time it was not possible to take this animal to the zoos of other continents. For the first time, this animal was able to be taken abroad only in the twenties of the 20th century to the New York Zoo. In an unnatural environment for the beast, he lived for only forty-nine days.
Platypus - indeed strange and cute creature, external features who cannot but be surprised. This animal lives exclusively in Australia, which once again proves the fact of the uniqueness of the flora and fauna of the Green Continent.
In conclusion, we suggest you look at the interesting video about amazing creation fauna- platypus: