The platypus is easily one of the weirdest and wackiest animals on the planet. This creature, which lives in burrows beside river systems throughout Australia’s east coast, is fascinating!
Build-A-Platypus
What sounds like an animal created in a child’s imagination, a platypus has a duckbill, a beaver’s tail, webbed feet, and digging claws.
The animal’s anatomy is so strange, that when it was first discovered in the late 1700s it was thought to be fake!
Looks Can Be Deceiving
While the platypus may look cute and defenseless, it’s actually regarded as one of Australia’s most venomous mammals. The small critter contains lethal ankle spurs that secrete a protective poison.
If a male platypus feels threatened, he can utilize these to incapacitate or kill any potential attackers. While getting stung won’t be fun, it’s luckily not fatal to humans. Females are born with ankle spurs as well, although they do not release venom.
Egg-Ceptional
The female platypus is an unusual egg-laying mammal known as a monotreme. The female will go back to her burrow to lay the tiny eggs, which will hatch in about ten days.
Because the mother has no nipples, the small puggles will nurse from the fur on her stomach.
Air and Water Lovers
While the platypus can breathe oxygen, it spends most of its time in the water.
It loves to feed on insects, lava, shrimp, and other small aquatic animals.