Platypus

Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) - 'bird-nosed, duck-like'

Where to See Platypus on Kangaroo Island

I have personally seen platypus on Kangaroo Island in the Rocky River, which is in Flinders Chase National Park, mostly I have seen them at a place called Black Swamp Lagoon which is where the National Parks have set up a number of viewing platforms, it's a short walk from the Visitors Centre. However, I have also seen them downstream of this point, once near the bridge on the Snake Lagoon Walk and once on the beach at the mouth of the Rocky River, also on the Snake Lagoon Walk.

The best time to see platypus in my experience is at dawn, you need to be super quiet and if you are lucky you will see one swimming around, however as soon as they hear any noise they disappear. Sit quietly and look for ripples on the water, especially near the edge of the creeks in the reeds etc.

When platypus are not in their burrows, they are swimming around feeding, this involves swimming along the bottom of the creek and collecting food, they can generally stay under for a couple of minutes, they then come to the surface to eat the food. If you are lucky enough to see a platypus feeding, I have found that it's typically safe to make a little noise & change you position etc when the platypus is under the water, however when it surfaces, do not move a single muscle or make any noise.

In general the behaviour of platypus is quite unpredictable, I had a passenger on one of my tours once who had a great story which typifies their erratic behaviour. She was in Tasmania and determined to see a platypus, she had to hike about 1 hour from a little town to get to what she had been told was the best place to see platypus, she did this every morning in the freezing cold and dark to get to the spot at dawn for 5 days straight and didn't see a single platypus. The next day she was walking through the little town, which had a creek running through it, as she crossed a bridge, there in the middle of town, in the middle of the day, was a platypus happily swimming around without a care in the world.

Go nuts looking for Platypus yourself, however if you are interested in doing any Kangaroo Island Tours from Adelaide then Travelwild can sort you out.

Happy platypus hunting.

Distribution

Kangaroo Island, Tasmania and Eastern Australia.

Habitat

Edges of subtropical to cool temperate rivers and freshwater lakes where burrows can be dug.

Size

Head & Body:30-42cm; Tail: 10-13cm.

Diet

• Feeds on aquatic insect larvae, shrimps, yabbies and worms by dabbling in mud or silt on the bottom of rivers and freshwater lakes with its flexible beak.
• A platypus can consume nearly half its own body weight each day. It has no teeth, but has horny plates to grind up food.
• In addition to the sense of sound, the beak is sensitive to slight electric currents generated by its prey.
• They search for food up to 12-13 hours per day, mostly during the night.

Breeding

• Breeding occurs during spring.
• A male and females platypus will mate in the water, and 12-14 days later the female will lay between 1 and 3 eggs in a nesting burrow that she created. The burrow may be on the bank of a lake, is up to 20 metres long and has a nesting chamber at the end lined with damp plant material.
• After 10-12 days incubation the young will hatch.
• Similarly to the echidna, the platypus lacks nipples, and milk from the mammary glands oozes out through ducts at two areas on the abdomen. It has been suggested that the hair around these areas acts as teats that allows the young to suckle the milk.
• By six weeks the young are furred, have their eyes open and may leave the burrow for short intervals, even entering the water. The young are weaned after 4-5 months.

Identification

Water repellant fur that is dark brown on the back, pale cream and sometimes reddish below. The feet are webbed and have long, sharp claws (for burrowing into riverbanks). Distinct 'duck-like' bill. A good way to see platypus on Kanagroo Island is to Tour Flinders Chase National Park

General Info:

• Weighs approximately 1.5 kg.
• European colonist first caught and described the platypus in the Hawkesbury River area, near Sydney in 1797. Its odd combination of duck-like bill, webbed feet and fur caused much intrigue. When sent to England for identification, it was first thought to be a hoax.
• Platypuses now only occur in the wild in the Eastern states of Australia. They were trapped widely for their fur in the 1800's and early 1900's and subsequent damage to river systems in which they lived, caused the platypus to disappear from SA many decades ago.
• Similarly to the koala, the platypus was introduced to KI through fears that it may become extinct on the mainland, 1928 and 1946. Surveys are being carried out to assess the size and range of platypus population on KI.
• Viewing tips: look around dawn/dusk. Be quiet. Concentric rings or bubbles on the surface of the water indicate that a platypus has dived under. May hear a loud splash.
• Often sighted at the platypus waterholes in Flinders Chase National Park. Other creeks throughout the park are home to the Platypus.

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Kangaroo Island Travel Guide

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