Platypus found in Logan River for the first time in 18 years

**S3ute** · 2nd April 2019, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by Saitch

He had about 40-50 cattle ticks over him, poor little bugger.

Hello again.

A few years ago I was on an advisory body for a cattle property near Springsure that had set aside 300ha as a reserve to protect the bridled nailtail wallaby - one of the rarest animals on the planet at the time. These small macropods had once been all over the continent but thought to have finally become extinct some decades ago. A relict population was discovered on a property near Emerald and the reserve was trying to build up a population from some animals taken off that property which had been resumed as a National Park.

Anyway, to the point. Whenever an animal was trapped it was tagged or recorded, weighed, checked for pregnancy if female, and then given a thorough de-ticking. It wasn’t uncommon to pull more than thirty ticks off a wallaby - especially around the base of the ears. The animal itself isn’t much bigger than a large cat.

The biggest problem for survival was feral cats - so, the Sporting Shooters Association would send up members several times a year to shoot them out. Did a reasonable job of it.

The other major problem was the National Park Service itself which was doing its best to recreate the extinction process for the animal in the National Park by killing out the dingoes, banning use of fire and resisting common sense to allow some limited grazing to keep the grass down to what the animals preferred. The green folks who control (the Minister who controls) the parks simply couldn’t make the sensible choice between staying “pure” and accommodating the survival needs of something rarer than snow leopards. As the populations in the park declined the pressure was on to take animals back off the reserve which was fought tooth and nail.

Cheers

**V8Ian** · 2nd April 2019, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by Saitch

It's not only development/industry that is a threat. They are also susceptible to introduced pests.
I rescued this little fella from the upper reaches of the Brissie River near Linville, while bass fishing, in the late '90s.

He had about 40-50 cattle ticks over him, poor little bugger. Helen sat for well over an hour removing them.

I suppose you carried on fishing!

**Saitch** · 2nd April 2019, 02:24 PM

I'll have you know that I took him straight to the Kilcoy Hospital, where said de-ticking took place.
Helen was D.O.N. there, at the time

**bushrover** · 2nd April 2019, 07:55 PM

This thread brings back memories of a cranky old teacher whacking my knuckles for using Platypi.....apparently we had to use Platypodes or if you wanted to use Aussie English Platypuses was acceptable. Something about platypus not being Latin but Greek origin. Anyway I had to google an answer -
YouTube

**RANDLOVER** · 2nd April 2019, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by S3ute

Yes, the critters are around, which is great. At the end of the day they have to live somewhere, so can’t always be too choosy.

Having said that, they still have preferences for better than for worse.

Cheers,

Don't seem to be affected by prawn whitespot then, that devastated the prawn farms on the Logan river, thought to have been due to imported frozen but uncooked prawns that were then used as bait for fishing IIRC. Outbreak

White spot disease

**RANDLOVER** · 2nd April 2019, 10:23 PM

Originally Posted by S3ute

Yes, the critters are around, which is great. At the end of the day they have to live somewhere, so canÂ’t always be too choosy.

Having said that, they still have preferences for better than for worse.

Cheers,

Don't seem to be affected by prawn whitespot then, that devastated the prawn farms on the Logan river, thought to have been due to imported frozen but uncooked prawns that were then used as bait for fishing IIRC. Outbreak

White spot disease

**jerryd** · 3rd April 2019, 12:49 AM

We've got two platypus that can be regularly spotted in our creek, they are very shy creatures and one normally has to sit behind a bush or tree so they don't see you

A few weeks ago one of them came face to face with our rather large duck, they stared at each other for a minute or so then the platypus went under water !!

**numpty** · 3rd April 2019, 06:56 AM

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

That's surprising, I thought the freshwater crocodiles would have gotten the platypi.

???? They don't inhabit the same latitudes.

Used to see lots of them in the Caboolture River when I paddled there years ago. We counted 13 in a 5k stretch of the river one morning and they are very inquisitive little animals. They would just sit on top of the water as we glided past.

We also see them regularly in the Styx River west of Armidale.

DiscoMick · 3rd April 2019, 07:13 AM

We've seen platypus in the Mary River at Maleny, just next to Woolies in the town centre, while drinking coffee on the boardwalk.

**S3ute** · 3rd April 2019, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by bushrover

This thread brings back memories of a cranky old teacher whacking my knuckles for using Platypi.....apparently we had to use Platypodes or if you wanted to use Aussie English Platypuses was acceptable. Something about platypus not being Latin but Greek origin. Anyway I had to google an answer -
YouTube

Hello again.

Your teacher was technically correct on pulling up any flagrant use of pseudo-Latinism. Just as the plural of hippopotamus isn’t hippopotami for the same reason.

Actually, I used platypi more or less tongue in cheek in my earlier post before reverting to the more popular colloquial variant of platypuses. Platypus would have done just as well I suppose.

Whatever, the buggers are special.

Cheers,

Neil

Thread: Platypus found in Logan River for the first time in 18 years

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