Wild Facts

Photo by Stefan Kraft (Wikimedia)

Now I know the die hard Wild Fact fans will realize that we have already talked about the Duck-Billed Platypus when the website was first starting up.  There are two very good reasons why we are revisiting this awesome animal.  The first time around all we really looked at was the electrical impulses their bill produces to locate their prey.  Today’s post will look at some other unique features of this creature.  Oh and the second reason we are doing a repeat Wild Fact – the Platypus is an awesome creature and one of my favourites so I have been dying to write about them again.  So grab your coffee and enjoy the Platypus 2.0.  If you are interested, the first Wild Fact on this animal can be found at http://www.wild-facts.com/wild-fact-996-the-prey-always-gets-stuck-with-the-bill/.

So let’s jump right into the Platypus 2.0 by describing the unique appearance of this creature.  What is so unique about them you ask?  Let’s see, if you were to take a bunch of different animals and blended them all together, you would have a Duck-Billed Platypus.  For starters they lay eggs, their feet are similar to an Otter, their bill is obviously duck-like in fashion, they have a tail like a beaver and finally their feet our webbed like an aquatic bird.  They are so unique in appearance that early discoverers had a difficult time convincing people that the Platypus was a real animal.

Photo by TwoWings (Wikimedia)

To make this animal even more interesting is the fact that they are venomous.  The males have a spur on their back foot which can cause severe pain if you were unfortunate enough to get pricked.  The purpose of this little poisonous spike is mainly for self-defense but scientists have noted that the amount of venom increases during mating season.  This leads us to believe that it is also a status symbol.  It seems that the males of every animal species has some unique way of showing they are better than their competition.  Humans may not use poison to show off but I would like to see a Platypus drive a BMW to impress the ladies.

Duck-Billed Platypus Fast Fact – When they are not in mating season, the Duck-Billed Platypus will live in burrows.  And when they are not burrowing it up they can be found hunting in the water.  In fact, they literally spend half of their day in the water.  I wonder if their feet and hands get all wrinkly?

That does it for Platypus 2.0!  I hope you enjoyed the second version of this Wild Fact.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Since University, I have always been intrigued by the Platypus. The unique appearance and being one of the few venomous mammals is interesting enough to make my 1000 Wild Facts list, however, this post will be about how the platypus detects their prey.

The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal that lives in Eastern Australia. It is one of the only mammal that lays eggs instead of giving birth to live young and it is an important part of much research on evolution (due to the unique characteristics). The platypus feeds by swimming in streams and rivers and digging in the stream bed with it’s bill looking for insects, crayfish, tadpoles, worms, small fish, etc. Although it is thought that the platypus has excellent eye-sight and can hear very well it does not use these senses to feed. In fact, the platypus will close its eyes, ears and nose as it dives in the rivers. So how do they locate their prey? Great question! The platypus will use it’s duck-like bill to detect electric fields generated by contacting muscles of moving prey. This electrolocation method is unique and allows the platypus to detect the distance and direction of their prey. The platypus is the only mammal capable of using electrolocation. Other animals that have electro-receptors include sharks, catfish, sturgeon and lamprey.

For more information on the platypus, I suggest picking up the following book: