World’s First Platypus Sanctuary To Be Built In Australia
FIRST PLATYPUS SANCTUARY – Conversationalists in Australia unveils their plan to build the world’s first platypus sanctuary.
This is in order to promote breeding and rehabilitation as the platypus face extinction due to climate change, according to a report from Inquirer.
The Taronga Conservation Society Australia and the New South Wales State government said that they would build the specialist facility, which is mostly composed of ponds and burrows for the semiaquatic creatures, at a zoo about 391 kilometers or 243 miles away from Sydney.
The said facility could house up to 65 platypuses.
“There is so much to learn about the platypus and we know so little,”
“These facilities will be critical in building our knowledge so that we don’t let this iconic creature slip off the earth.”
This came from a statement made by Taronga CEO Cameron Kerr.
There are increased concerns regarding the extinction of the platypus since once-in-a-generation wildfires destroyed about 12.6 million hectares or 31 million acres of bush. This is nearly the size of Greece, in late 2019 and early 2020.
Nearly three billion animals died in what the prime minister called the “black summer” of Australia. A government inquiry also discovered that bushfires would likely occur more often due to warming temperatures.
The platypus is rarely seen in the wild due to its reclusive nature and highly specific habitat needs. It is also one of just two egg-laying mammals and usually lives around small streams and slow-moving rivers in cooler temperatures, based on the report.
“The refuge … will give us a chance to really learn about what sort of environments they like, and what is most likely to encourage them to breed,”
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