Thread: Found this at work today

absoloutely gorgeous, how did you manage to catch him?

I wonder how many children have the pleasure of ever seeing a platypus in the wild.

It brings back memories of the times my two-year-old son and I spent in Noreuil Park (Albury - on the Murray River) watching a platypus play

My son is now 26 - and unfortunately it has been many years since a platypus has been seen in that area.

What an experience for you - you are indeed very fortunate.

Originally Posted by CapeLandy

looks a little small to be man eating. Unless you ment manhood

Mate, we don't need big cats to kill and eat you. Our wildlife is sneaky. The male platypus has a poisonous spur. Once it has immobilised you, it slowly devours you (after dragging you into it's underwater burrow).

Originally Posted by http://www.australianfauna.com/platypus.php

Amazing Fact: The male platypus has venom strong enough to kill humans.
Since only the male platypus has this venomous spur, and the gland peaks during mating season, many suggest it is normally used in aggressive encounters between other male platypus.

Good to see they're still around. I've only ever seen two in the wild, both on the same day.

My parents used to have the dry cleaning business in Tumut, and when I was down there on holidays from Alice Springs, used to borrow one of their cars and go fishing in the river behind the racecourse in town early mornings. Saw two platypus playing in the river one morning while I was trying for a bit of fresh trout - will never forget it.

I've seen some really big Gippsland Spiny crays in it as well as Brown and Rainbow Trout up to around 30 Cm,

got any yabbie nets

Originally Posted by Sprint

absoloutely gorgeous, how did you manage to catch him?

Grabbed him from above around the body just behind the front legs, just in case it was a male.
As a juvenile, his spur was only sbout 1 mm long.
I didn't try to get pics of it as I didn't want to overhandle him. I went back to where I found him after work and he was still fossicking through the mud.

Originally Posted by hiline

got any yabbie nets

Tha last Platypus I saw at work was dead in an "Opera House" net.
I use a dip net for crays, or if it's a nice day I just walk up the riverbed and pick them up-carefully!

Dont have them things up here and as for the trout the black mink are depleteing the stocks of fish as some geeek thought that it was cruel to farm mink and released the captives, who have no natural enemies here not even a snake............