Platypus caught on film gathering grasses for nest in rare moment

A rare glimpse into the secret life of one of Australia’s most elusive* animals has been caught on camera, with a female platypus at Victoria’s Healesville Sanctuary spotted collecting nesting material with her tail ahead of breeding season.

Yami (Pronounced YAH-me) has been paired with a male platypus called Wally, who is on exchange from David Fleay Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast to introduce new genetics*.

Healesville Sanctuary Platypus Specialist Dr Jessica Thomas said it was rare for people to see a Platypus collecting vegetation* out in the wild because the secretive animal usually did so at night.

“From the few observations we’ve seen, the females go out and collect any kind of wet vegetation that they can find in their area. That is why having creeks and rivers with lots of plants along the banks that’ll drop leaves and bark into the water is essential for Platypuses to breed out in the wild,” Dr Thomas said.

Platypus nesting burrows function as an underground nursery where a female can lay her eggs and successfully raise her young.

“We find that Yami particularly likes tussock* grasses and mat rushes to create her burrow,” Dr Thomas said. “She’ll also collect gum leaves that she finds, other leaves and pieces of bark.

“Yami passes the grasses from her bill under her body into her tail, which she turns into a hook. This is a great way that she can carry that vegetation back underground into her mysterious nesting burrow where she can weave and sow it into an elaborate nest.”

The humidity created by the wet grasses prevents the fragile eggs from drying out while ensuring the burrow stays warm as the nestlings* develop – especially while mum is out feeding.

“This big clump of grasses is then going to slowly decompose* in that nest as the young get older,” Dr Thomas said. “It only needs to last four months because by that time the young have all their fur and they can maintain their own body temperature.”

PLATYPUS FACTS

•  Healesville Sanctuary was the first place in the world to successfully breed a platypus in 1943.
• Breeding season lasts from August to November each year.
• Platypuses are monotremes*, which means they are an egg-laying mammal – one of only two in the world, along with the echidna.
• Platypuses are classified as Vulnerable* in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.
• Things threatening the survival of platypuses in the wild include pollution in waterways, drought and flooding. By keeping the streets clean, it helps keep the creeks clean in order to protect this precious animal.

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GLOSSARY

• elusive: hard to find or difficult to catch
• genetics: different DNA to strengthen the species
• vegetation: plant matter
• tussock: a type of grass like plant that grow in clumps
• nestlings: the recently hatched baby platypuses
• decompose: break down into organic matter
• monotremes: egg-laying mammals, including the echidna and the platypus
• Vulnerable: a species facing a high risk of extinction in the wild unless threats to its survival improve

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QUICK QUIZ
1. What type of animal is a platypus?
2. Why do the grasses collected by the platypus for its nest need to be wet?
3. Which types of vegetation does Yami like the best?
4. How old are the nestlings when they start being able to regulate their own body temperatures?
5. Why is it important for platypuses that we keep our streets clean?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Vulnerable species
Using evidence from the article and any other facts you may already know, outline the reasons why the platypus is listed as a vulnerable species.

Cover impacts that include:

• Human
• Climate
• environmental

Present your findings as a brochure for other students to read about.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
How does pollution in the waterways travel to where platypuses live?
What suggestions can you improve for your school or local waterways?

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
What happens next?
Imagine the full story turns out to be in three parts and this article is only Part One. Think about what the rest of the story could be and write the next two parts that tell the rest of this story.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Critical and Creative Thinking