Wednesday, November 21, 2012

WHAT DOES A PLATYPUS LOOK LIKE

A platypus has webbed feet, a flat tail and 3 layers of thick brown fur that keeps the platypus warm. It looks quite similar to a beaver, except that a platypus has a nose that looks similar to a duck's bill. The male platypus has sharp ankle spurs that have venom. It can kill small animals with the poison. It also weighs up too 4kg in weight.
 Their tale is around 12 cm in length and stores its food just like a camel in its humps.


Interesting facts about the platypus:

-When the first English settlers sent reports and the stuffed body of a platypus to England, the scientists there thought it was a prank.

-The platypus bill is rubbery and flexible

-Males have a sharp hollow spur on their hind ankles. These are venomous. The venom can kill a small animal or incapacitate a human.

-And last but not least: Platypuses are a protected species. People are not allowed to kill them.


Thanks for reading this post. 

-Karl





PLATYPUSES ON TV

platypuses have become more popular with the cartoon TV show called "Phineas and Ferb." This show is based on 2 schoolboys and what they get up to on their summer holidays. Meanwhile, their pet platypus, Perry, is out saving the world from bad guys and doing other kind of awesome stuff. He is supposed to be a secret agent. This is how platypuses have gotten more mainstream and popular. Before then, they were just another animal. Its a kind of revolution, or new era in a way. Here is a clip to show you what its like. Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you learned something new about the platypus specimen.

-Karl



WHAT DO PLATYPUSES EAT?


 A platypus will usually spend the majority of its time searching for food and it eats nearly 30% of its body weight, every day. Being a carnivore its diet consists of crabs, insects, worms and fish. Since they are bottom feeders, they like hunting mostly at night in dark, remote places. 

 A platypus searches its food in the mud and underwater by shutting his nostrils and eyes. They can hold there breath for up to 40 seconds before they must come up to the surface to breathe. Just like camels in their humps, their can store food in large pouches on their cheeks, which is consumed when they return to the surface. It also feeds on shrimps and it hunts by digging into the water for occasional insects and worms. They come to the surface for a few seconds to chew and then they submerge again. They are carnivores but with no teeth as their mouth is equipped with grinding pads, so they can swallow food safely without injury to themselves.