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.

WHERE TO FIND PLATYPUSES?

 You can find platypuses in the eastern parts of Australia in rivers or lakes. They create burrows which can be up to 100 feet in length. These burrows are made in the banks of the rivers or lakes and have 2 entrances. 

 Platypuses spend up to 17 hours a day in their burrows. Several of these hours are spent at the entrance, sunbathing and grooming their thick, dense fur.

 Their habitats contain several predators such as the owls, snakes, eagles, crocodiles and foxes. These predators are finding it hard to find platypuses as platypuses are now being exposed to water polution and as a result is effecting the welfare of all animals.

Want a platypus to live in YOUR house? well unfortunately its against the law, but you could help work in a plattypus sanctuary http://www.platypusecotours.com.au/ 

 

 I hope I didnt crush your hopes of owning a platypus. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more posts on the famous specimen, the platypus.

Introduction To My Blog

Hello and welcome to my blog. Im Karl Gibson and throughout the course of the year, will be posting articles on platypus. Stay tuned for interesting facts, as I learn and share as I go. Why not favourite this blog, or subscribe to it via RSS? Thanks for reading.

-Karl.