The platypus hunts in the water for prey such as insect larvae, water snails, and small crustaceans.
Underwater it cloes its eyes, ears, and nostrils and sweeps its broad bill from side to side to locate prey.
The bill is soft and pliable, not hard like a duck's, and is highly sensitive. The platypus swims with its feet only. Most of its dives last between 30
seconds and a minute and a half. It sometimes stays under by wedging itself beneath a log or under a stone.
The platypus swims along using its front feet only. Most of its dives last between 30 seconds and a minute and a half. It sometimes remains underwater by wedging itself beneath a log or under a stone.
On the bottom, the platypus fills its cheeks with food. When its cheeks are full, the platypus surfaces and spits out any sand or stones it has picked up, then grinds the food between horny plates it has instead of teeth.
The duckbill platypus always lives near water-mostly in the rivers of eastern Australia and Tasmania.It nests in tunnels that it digs in riverbanks or in crevices and caves on rocky banks. Its tunnels can run 50 feet long or more.
The platypus is amphibious(lives both on land and in water) and dives and swims well. It is a loner except during breeding season and is territorial, defending its own stretch of river from intruders.
The platypus uses its webbed front feet for both swimming and burrowing. When it walks on land it curls its feet under its body to protect them.
The male and female platypus mate between August and October. The pair court by swimming around each other.
Then the female platypus digs a long nesting tunnel in the riverbank with a chamber as its end. The nesting tunnel is longer than the platypus's home tunnel-it may be as long as 65 feet.
The female collects grass and leaves, grasps them under her tail, and carriesthem back to the tunnel to construct a nest. There she lays two white, softshelled eggs(the platypus is the one of only three mammals that lay eggs)that she incubates by holding them snuggly between her tail and belly. Each egg is about the size of a marble.
The hatching period is variable. After one or two weeks the eggs hatch and the young make their way through the mother's fur to suckle at her milk glands.
The young stay in the burrow up to five months and continue to suckle after they have left the burrow.
The platypus lives in the solw-flowing streams and rivers; some lakes in eastern Australia and Tasmania. The platypus is protected but rare, even in suitable sites. Its habitat is sensitive to pollution, disturbance, and development. Conservation of the platypus and its habitat is vital.
We got our information from the "Wildlife Fact File".
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